Bahrain Grand Prix – Mark’s Preview

You can prepare and prepare, but at the end of the day you’ve got to go racing and I think Red Bull Racing heads to Bahrain’s season-opener in good shape. The RB6 has been quick in testing and we’ve managed a slightly higher pre-season mileage than last year, which gives us confidence, but you always enter the first race a bit nervous.

On the evidence of testing, it’s going to be incredibly tight at the front this year. No team has dominated in the way that Brawn did last winter and all of the top teams have race winning drivers in their cars. I expect the main protagonists from 2009 – Mercedes (née Brawn), Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Ferrari – to be quick, but you can’t write off the likes of Sauber and Williams; that’s how difficult it is to read the formbook.

One of Red Bull Racing’s biggest strengths this season is continuity. The guys designing the RB6 are the same as last year; we’ve got the same driver line-up and, operationally, we’ve got the same guys in the same boxes at the track. We can hit the ground running this weekend, even if, like everyone else, we’ve still got to learn how to play the tactics that come with the new-for-2010 regulations.

The ban on race refuelling is going to have a huge impact on the performance of the cars, as well as race strategy. F1 cars hate weight and they will be starting each race with about 150 litres of fuel on board, so it will be important to manage tyre and brake wear during the early stages of a race.

On a personal note, I feel in great shape going into the new season. I’m driving well and it has made a pleasant change to be able to train hard during the off-season, unlike last year when I was recovering from my crash in Tasmania. The only difficulty has been the weather in England, which has been freezing for the past three months.

It will be nice to experience some warm weather this weekend. I’ve always loved the climate in the Middle East, which is why I’ve had a few holidays in the region. The Bahraini people are also very welcoming, so we should have an enjoyable weekend ahead of us.

One thing’s certain: by Sunday night we’ll understand a lot more about the state of play in F1 and I very much hope to be at the sharp end of the timesheets.

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