Surprise factor set to play crucial role in Bahrain Grand Prix?

The Bahrain Grand Prix is set to present a surprising element for the drivers over the 57 laps that could play a vital role.

Given the exposed nature of the track in the Sakhir desert area of the country, the direction and strength of the wind have often been pivotal.

For the race that starts at 6pm local time [4pm BST], it appears likely there will be a headwind along the main straight that runs in a north-south direction from Turn 1 down to the final corner, Turn 13.

That plays into the hands for overtaking manoeuvres. A headwind will enable the drivers to follow more closely in the slipstream of a rival ahead, allowing them to get closer on the approach into the braking zone of Turn 1, and brake later into the corner, likely resulting in a pass.

The offset of a headwind at the Bahrain International Circuit generally results in a crosswind at Turn 4 and a tailwind into Turn 11, creating instability under braking into those particular corners.

Another notable aspect for race day is that the track and air temperatures look set to be lower for the start of the event.

Air temperature on Friday and Saturday was in the high 30s during the day. The FP3 sprint was run in 39-degree heat, leading to a track temperature of 51.

For the F3 feature race, the temperatures were 30 and 45 respectively. It means the temperatures for the grand prix will also likely be a few degrees different compared to second practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday.

That could aid a few teams, such as Red Bull, that have struggled so far this weekend in the much higher temperatures.