Race preview: Bahrain Grand Prix

All the key information ahead of Alex’s trip to Sakhir

Published

10 APR 2025

Est. reading time

3 min

Alex will be aiming to put more points on the board at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, after securing top-ten finishes at all three of his races so far in 2025.

Albono currently sits seventh in the Drivers’ Standings with 18 points to date, having finished P5 in Australia before recording P7 and P9 placings in China and Japan, respectively.

Our Thai racer can continue that hot streak at a venue where he has enjoyed some success in the past, as Atlassian Williams Racing look to continue their strong start to the current campaign.

Past stints in Sakhir

Alex claimed his first ever Formula 1 points at the Bahrain International Circuit, when he placed P9 there with Toro Rosso all the way back in 2019.

That performance helped pave the way for AA23’s move to Red Bull Racing later that year — and it was with them that he again made his mark in Bahrain by achieving the second podium finish of his career (P3) in 2020.

Albono will also have happy memories of his second visit to Sakhir with Williams, in the opening race of the 2023 season.

He finished P10 on that occasion, to pick up the first of 27 points that year — currently Alex’s best season with the team, though he will hope to beat that tally this term, of course.

Track talk

The Bahrain International Circuit first hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix back in 2004 and has been providing thrilling races ever since — including a series of season openers from 2021 to 2024.

Taking place in the heat of the Sakhir desert, the track contains an intriguing mix of slow technical sections and high-speed straights, as well as a number of mid-speed turns.

A high-speed first sector provides scintillating wheel-to-wheel racing, while anyone attempting to overtake at Turns 9 and 10 will be required to show the utmost precision.

Speeds remain high into Sector 3, too, thanks to the sweeping corners that lead into the run down the pit straight.

The circuit measures 5.412 km (3.363 miles) in total, and is perfectly designed to maximise excitement when the action gets under way this weekend.

Albono’s thoughts

Speaking ahead of his trip to Bahrain, Alex said:

"It's been a really strong start to the year, reaching Q3 and scoring points in every race so far.

"We are looking to carry that momentum into Bahrain, the second race of the triple header with completely different conditions to all other races so far this year.

"The team has been working hard and we’re hoping to be just as strong in race four.

"We’ve made a lot of progress and it’s great to see us lead the battle for the midfield!

"The first night race of the season always brings a unique atmosphere, and I'm excited to see what we can achieve under the lights."

Anything else?

As always, you can stay up to date with all the action via our live blog on the AA23 website and app.

We’ll bring you comprehensive coverage of Albono’s progress in Free Practice, Quali and Sunday’s showpiece, so you won’t miss a beat while he’s in Bahrain.

FP1 gets going at 2.30pm local time (AST), before FP2 at 6pm. FP3 then takes place at 3.30pm on Saturday, ahead of Qualifying at 7pm. The race itself starts at 6pm AST on Sunday

And don’t forget to add our latest ‘Albono’ stamp to your Fan Passport during the race weekend — you can do that by clicking the link below, with more information available here.