A Q&A with Aston Martin sporting director Andy Stevenson about today’s race in the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2025
Q: What are the main challenges Bahrain International Circuit poses to the team?
AS: “One of the big factors to consider in Bahrain is the track surface. It’s quite abrasive so we usually see high tyre degradation and that opens the door for different strategy calls.
“It’s very much a circuit where you need to optimise and execute well to find performance gains. The teams have raced in Bahrain for many years so they all know what to expect and how to approach it.
Q: How much do you enjoy going to Bahrain to race?
AS: “I think it’s a fantastic place to go for a Grand Prix.
“It normally produces exciting racing, and we’re always made to feel incredibly welcome; it’s almost like a second home to the team because we’ve spent a lot of time there.”
Q: With pre-season testing having taken place at Bahrain International Circuit, will this weekend reveal how the competitive order has evolved since February’s running?
AS: “In the early stages of the season we’ve seen that the midfield pack is extremely close, as we expected.
“Depending on what type of track we’re at, that pecking order shuffles around and in these opening races it’s not been clear as to who’s where in the midfield.
“It’s exciting for people watching at home, but it’s very difficult for us to call where we sit in that pack, and it’s also why getting our strategy and setup calls completely nailed is so important for gaining points.”
Q: We’re in the thick of the first triple-header of the year, having flown from Japan to Bahrain. How is the team combatting the challenges of different time zones and long flying hours?
“A lot of us in the team have been doing this job for some time so we’re used to the travel and we know what we need to do to mitigate things, from staying hydrated to sleeping at the right times.
“We also arrange our travel times and our workloads as best we can, but you have always got the change in time zones to deal with; there’s no escaping that when you race in a world championship.
“We just do everything we can to be prepared for the next race as early as possible. We left Japan as early as we could after the race to give ourselves a few days to acclimatise before getting into the Bahrain schedule.
“You can’t get away from the fact that triple-headers are extremely challenging, but we’re geared up to cope well with them.”
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