What F1 teams do well at the Bahrain Grand Prix with Ferrari and Mercedes successful

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The Bahrain Grand Prix has been on the Formula 1 calendar since 2004, having become the first race to take place in the Middle East.

The Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir has played host to every edition of the Bahrain Grand Prix over the years, as well, and even hosted two races in 2020 due to Covid-19 precautions forcing F1 to cancel other races on its schedule.

F1 normally holds its annual visit to Bahrain around the track’s Grand Prix layout, but the series also used the ‘Oasis’ outer section in 2020 for the Sakhir Grand Prix.

The one-off Sakhir GP even featured the fastest lap in F1 history, as George Russell set a 55.404s – the first-ever sub-60 second lap – after stepping up from Williams to Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton, who had tested positive for coronavirus.

The Bahrain International Circuit’s 3.3-mile Grand Prix track has seen a range of different drivers win over the years, not least Hamilton. But there have only been a handful of standout teams in the history of the Bahrain GP.

Ferrari are the most successful F1 constructor at the Bahrain Grand Prix

Ferrari hold the record for the most Grand Prix victories in Bahrain, having won the first race in 2004 and separately across different eras, including during the 2008, 2010, 2017 and 2022 seasons.

Michael Schumacher won the first-ever Bahrain GP ahead of Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello, while Felipe Massa took the Scuderia’s only back-to-back victories in Sakhir to date in 2007 and 2008.

Fernando Alonso also won on his debut for Ferrari in the 2010 Bahrain GP, after a spark plug failure denied Sebastian Vettel the win for Red Bull.

The dominance that Mercedes enjoyed at the start of the 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrid era in 2014 also shot the Silver Arrows towards the top of the Bahrain GP win record for teams.

Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were untouchable in the desert from 2014 to 2016, before the former put Mercedes back on top from 2019 to 2021 after Vettel won with Ferrari in 2017 and 2018.

The most successful F1 power unit manufacturers at the Bahrain Grand Prix

Ferrari and Mercedes also lead the way for the most wins for a power unit manufacturer in the history of the Bahrain GP.

But while Ferrari have only ever seen their works team win the Bahrain GP with their engines, Mercedes saw Brawn GP score the first Bahrain GP win with an engine from their factory in Brixworth in 2009. McLaren also won the Bahrain GP for the first time in 2025 with a Mercedes power unit.

Even Racing Point won the Sakhir GP in 2020 with a Mercedes engine, as Sergio Perez scored his first career victory despite dropping to last place at the end of lap one after a collision with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.