Fresh from the action in China, Formula One has made its way to Bahrain, to get some racing done in the desert. With political tensions still rumbling around the event, and plenty of discussion about the merits of Formula One action in the current regulations era, there are a lot of hot topics surrounding this weekend's race. So far this year, we've had three different winners, can we add one more to the collection in the next few days?

Event schedule

Free Practice Friday in Bahrain will see the return of the popular Finn, Heikki Kovalainen, as his team finally realise they may require his experience after all. McLaren are still pushing forward to gain back the performance they have lost, whilst Mercedes are hunting down their first win of the year. The troubled Red Bull duo managed to avoid each other in China, but they could find themselves near each other on track during the coming weekend.

Support racing for this event includes GP2 and Formula Middle East.

The weather

It won't surprise you to know that there are sunny days ahead in Bahrain. There are a few clouds dotted about on Saturday and Sunday, but the temperatures are high, and the rain has already passed.The two things to watch out for in the desert will be high winds, and perhaps some errant sand along the way.

Circuit map

The last race in China had an extra DRS zone on its previous outings, and it wasn't met with universal approval. Bahrain has also had an extra DRS section added to the circuit, where previously it only had one. The first, same as in 2012, is detected just before the final corner, with drivers able to open their rear wing down the start/finish straight.

The second zone is on the reflecting straight halfway round the lap, with detection before the tight hairpin that leads onto the straight parallel with the start line.

The circuit

Joining the calendar in the same year as China, the race has favoured Ferrari since 2004, with the team taking four victories along the way. Given the team’s pace in 2011, it’s hard to think they would have secured another win at the BIC but the race was cancelled before they had a chance to try.

The 2012 event went without a hitch, and drivers found themselves racing on the original configuration of tarmac - after a brief outing with a new extended layout to increase overtaking opportunities in 2010. The track offers three long straights that make up the majority of the first and third sectors. The middle of the lap sets the real challenge, with smooth, flowing corners, and just the one particularly tight hairpin to break up the monotony of the circuit.

Tyre compounds

With criticism rocketing during and after the Chinese Grand Prix thanks to the quick degradation seen on the softer tyre, Pirelli have taken a different tack for the upcoming race in Bahrain. Ahead of the season, the tyre supplier said they would be bringing hard and soft tyres to the desert, but this week they have revealed it will be the hard and mediums, just one step apart. As the motorsport director says, the Bahrain track will be hard on the rubber.

We expect about three stops per car, although we’ll have to wait to get some running in on Friday before we can look at the data and make a more accurate prediction. One of the main challenges of racing in Bahrain is that the track evolution is very hard to predict, depending on how much sand is blown onto the circuit. From what we saw last year though, there will be plenty of scope for different race strategies, which can even allow drivers who have not qualified as well as they hoped to recover during the grand prix.

- Paul Hembery

Press conference schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Race stewards

The FIA stewarding process was changed recently to include a former F1 driver to offer added insight. These are the stewards overseeing this weekend's action.