The polesitter is yet to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix and no wins have been taken from outside the top five on the grid. Here’s everything you need to know about each grid slot’s history at Bahrain International Circuit!
BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX GRID STATS IN BRIEF
- Polesitter has never retired
- 11th has recorded three podiums
- 19th has had the most non-finishes
- No wins from further back than 5th
BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RESULTS: GRID OVERVIEW
| Last Win | Last Podium | Last Points | Last DNF | Top 10 Finish % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | - | 100% |
| 2 | 2021 | 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | 85% |
| 3 | 2019 | 2022 | 2022 | 2023 | 75% |
| 4 | 2009 | 2020 (Bahrain) | 2023 | 2022 | 70% |
| 5 | 2020 (Sakhir) | 2023 | 2023 | 2020 (Bahrain) | 90% |
| 6 | - | 2004 | 2023 | 2017 | 70% |
| 7 | - | 2012 | 2023 | 2019 | 90% |
| 8 | - | 2013 | 2023 | 2014 | 70% |
| 9 | - | 2018 | 2022 | 2023 | 65% |
| 10 | - | 2020 (Sakhir) | 2021 | 2022 | 50% |
| 11 | - | 2020 (Sakhir) | 2022 | 2019 | 42% |
| 12 | - | - | 2023 | 2017 | 50% |
| 13 | - | - | 2021 | 2020 (Bahrain) | 30% |
| 14 | - | - | 2019 | 2016 | 30% |
| 15 | - | - | 2023 | 2018 | 25% |
| 16 | - | - | 2022 | 2020 (Sakhir) | 10% |
| 17 | - | - | 2018 | 2021 | 10% |
| 18 | - | - | 2017 | 2023 | 5% |
| 19 | - | - | 2020 (Sakhir) | 2021 | 5% |
| 20 | - | - | 2023 | 2017 | 11% |
- Only four wins in last nine Bahrain races
- Never failed to score
- Only 3 non-podium finishes since 2004
- 9th (in 2013) is worst result
Less than half of the 20 Formula 1 races at Bahrain International Circuit have been won from pole. Max Verstappen’s 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix win from pole marked the ninth win in total from the front of the grid in Bahrain. It also marked the first time since the first two races at the track that consecutive Bahrain events were won from pole.
Only four of the last ten nine races here have been won from pole position. Nevertheless, the Bahrain Grand Prix polesitter can expect a fruitful evening as the driver starting at the front here has never previously failed to score.
There have been only three occasions that the polesitter has failed to finish on the podium here: Sebastian Vettel finished fourth in 2010, Nico Rosberg finished ninth in 2013 and Valtteri Bottas finished eighth in the one-off Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM POLE POSITION IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
- Five wins have been taken from 2nd
- Only two podiums in the last seven races
- Three finishes outside of the top 10; all retirements
Drivers starting from the front row have won 14 of the 20 races held in Bahrain since 2004. Five of those wins have been from second on the grid – in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2021.
The second grid slot has failed to finish in the top ten only three times at the circuit, with non-finishes for Michael Schumacher in 2005, Kimi Raikkonen in 2018 and Max Verstappen in 2022.
In 2021, Lewis Hamilton became the first driver starting from this grid slot to win since 2016, and the first driver starting here to finish on the podium since 2017. Sergio Perez finished second having started on the front row in the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 2ND ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | DNF | 5 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 19 | 2 |
- Two DNFs in the last four years
- Three wins in total
- Only five non-points-scoring races
In the last seven seasons, the driver starting third on the grid in Bahrain has won twice. Sebastian Vettel won the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton was victorious from third on the grid in 2019.
The 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix – in which Max Verstappen crashed out from third on the grid on the opening lap – ended four consecutive races in which the driver starting here had finished in the top two.
Until the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel’s DNS in 2016 was the last time that third on the grid in Bahrain did not supply a podium finish. Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Montoya’s DNF in the inaugural race here, Lewis Hamilton’s 13th place in 2008 and Charles Leclerc’s DNF in 2023 are the only other times that the grid slot has not scored points.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 3RD ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 3 | DNS | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | DNF | 3 | 2 | DNF |
- Two victories from 4th on the grid – in 2006 and 2009
- Five podiums in the last ten years
- No podiums since 2020
Until 2020, fourth was the furthest back grid slot to have won at Bahrain International Circuit. The driver starting here has won twice, with Fernando Alonso taking victory at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix and Jenson Button winning for Brawn GP in 2009.
In the last ten years, the driver starting fourth has finished on the podium five times. There have been two retirements from fourth on the grid in the last four races in Bahrain. Charles Leclerc retired having started here in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, while Sergio Perez retired in the closing stages of the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 4TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 2 | 2 | 5 | DNF | 2 | 3 | DNF | 6 | 18 | 4 |
- Furthest back win recorded from 5th
- Two podiums in last two years
- Finished 4th in five consecutive races
Before 2020, the driver starting fifth in Bahrain had never failed to score, had never recorded a retirement, had never finished on the podium and had never won the race. All four of those facts changed thanks to Sergio Perez. He started fifth in both the 2020 Bahrain and Sakhir Grands Prix. Perez’s retirement in the first race – when he looked set to score a podium finish – brought to an end the grid slot’s 100% scoring rate, while his win one week later set a new record for the furthest back win recorded at the track.
In 2022, Lewis Hamilton recorded only the second podium finish for the driver starting fifth in Bahrain. He finished in third place. Another podium followed in 2023, this time thanks to Fernando Alonso, who also finished third.
Between 2015 and 2019, the driver starting fifth finished in fourth place every season. The grid slot has recorded just two retirements, with Pierre Gasly failing to finish in 2021 in addition to Perez’s 2020 retirement.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 5TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | DNF | 1 | 17 | 3 | 3 |
- Fewest points-scoring appearances of top seven grid slots
- Finished 7th in four of the last five races
- Only one retirement
Sixth on the grid has scored points on the fewest occasions from any of the top seven grid slots. However, the driver starting here has failed to score only twice in the last ten races at the circuit.
Max Verstappen’s retirement here in 2017 is the only time a driver starting from sixth in the Sakhir desert has failed to finish the race. While the grid slot has had only one DNF, it has also had only one podium result, having supplied Jenson Button with a third place finish in 2004.
The driver starting here has finished seventh in all but one of the last five races at Bahrain International Circuit.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 6TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 10 | 9 | DNF | 5 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
- Only two failures to score – a DNS and a DNF
- Just one podium finish, 3rd in 2012
- 5th place finishes in the last two seasons
There have been only two occasions that the driver starting from seventh at the Bahrain Grand Prix has failed to score. The first was in 2005, when Christian Klien failed to start the race for Red Bull following electrical problems. In 2019, Carlos Sainz recorded the first actual DNF from this grid slot.
The driver starting here has finished on the podium only once, with Romain Grosjean recording a third place finish with Lotus in the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix. Lando Norris recorded the best result since then with fourth place in 2021.
The driver starting seventh has finished fifth in the Bahrain Grand Prix in each of the last two seasons.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 7TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 6 | 8 | 9 | 6 | DNF | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
- Scored in all of the last eight Bahrain races
- Single podium finish – 2nd in 2013
- Only two retirements – in 2007 and 2014
The driver starting eighth at Bahrain International Circuit has scored more often than not. All of the past eight races here have seen eighth on the grid pick up points, while Kimi Raikkonen recorded the best finish, and only podium, for a driver starting from eighth with the runner-up spot in 2013.
There have been only two DNFs from eighth on the grid – for Mark Webber in 2007 and Kevin Magnussen in 2014.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 8TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 13 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
- Two podium finishes – both 3rd places, in 2005 and 2018
- Two retirements in the last three races, both Alpine drivers
- 11 points finishes in total
The driver starting ninth in Bahrain has recorded two podium finishes – both third places, for Kimi Raikkonen in 2005 and Lewis Hamilton in 2018.
The grid slot has recorded two retirements in the last three Bahrain races, with Alpine drivers Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon retiring in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
Since 2016, the only other time that this grid slot has failed to score was at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, when Pierre Gasly came home 11th and less than a second away from a points-scoring finish.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 9TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 5 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 11 | DNF | 4 | DNF |
- Only Stroll has scored points starting here since 2017
- One podium finish from 10th – 3rd in 2020 (Sakhir)
- Only five top five finishes since 2004
Until 2020, fifth and tenth were the only two grid slots in the top ten to have never scored at Bahrain International Circuit. That all changed at the Sakhir Grand Prix, as Sergio Perez won from fifth on the grid, and Lance Stroll came home third having started tenth.
The grid slot has both a low DNF rate and a low points rate. Stroll’s third place is one of only two occasions on which the driver starting 10th has scored a point in the last eight Bahrain races. In fact, only Stroll has scored here in that time, having also finished 10th in the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.
In 2019, Daniel Ricciardo recorded the first non-finish for a driver starting from tenth on the grid since David Coulthard in the first Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004. Pierre Gasly became the latest retiree from this grid slot in 2022.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 10TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 7 | 6 | 13 | 11 | DNF | 11 | 3 | 10 | DNF | 15 |
- 3 podium results from 11th on the grid
- Only Ocon has scored from here since 2015
- Only position outside of top 10 except 22nd to record a top three finish
11th on the grid has supplied three podium finishes at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and is the only position outside the top ten, other than 22nd, to have supplied a podium result.
Kimi Raikkonen finished second in the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix having started from 11th, and Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean finished third from here the following season.
Esteban Ocon is the only driver to score from here since 2015. He finished second place in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix and came home seventh in the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. The grid slot was left clear in 2021 due to Sergio Perez being forced to start from the pit lane after mechanical issues on the Formation Lap.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 11TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 8 | DNF | 12 | 17 | DNF | 13 | 2 | 7 | 17 |
- Best result of sixth, recorded twice
- Four points finishes in the last five years
- Only two retirements
Alex Albon’s ninth place finish in 2019 was the first time that the driver lining up 12th on the grid in Bahrain had scored points since 2016. The grid slot has gone on to supply another three points finishes in the last four seasons – the best of those being a sixth place result, again for Albon, at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.
Sixth is this grid slot’s best finishing position. Before Albon finished sixth in 2020, Sergio Perez also finished sixth for Force India in 2013. The grid slot has given ten top ten finishes in the 20 races to date at the track.
There have been only two non-finishes from 12th on the grid: Kazuki Nakajima in the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix and Lance Stroll in the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 12TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 12 | 10 | DNF | 16 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 8 |
- Four points-scoring races from 13th on the grid
- Best result of 4th in 2014
- Lost positions in four of the last five Bahrain races
There have been only four Bahrain races in which the driver starting 13th has scored points. Daniel Ricciardo recorded the best finish for this grid slot in 2014 with fourth place.
There have been four DNFs from 13th on the grid, the most recent being for Lance Stroll in the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. In the last two years, the driver starting here has finished in a worse position than where they started.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 13TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 14 | DNF | 11 | 7 | 8 | DNF | 12 | 9 | 15 | 16 |
- No points since 2019
- No retirements since 2016
- Has gained positions in 14 of the 20 Bahrain races
At the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2017, 2018 and 2019, the driver lining up 14th on the grid had finished in the top ten. No driver has scored from here since then, but they have at least made up positions from their grid slot during the race.
The best result from 14th on the grid in Bahrain is eighth, recorded by Mark Webber, David Coulthard and Stoffel Vandoorne in 2004, 2005 and 2018 respectively.
The driver starting here has retired four times. Of the 16 races that the driver starting 14th has finished, they have finished in a better position than where they started 14 times.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 14TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 11 | DNF | 10 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
- Has finished 10th in the last two years
- Best result of 5th, in 2020
- No retirements since 2018
Carlos Sainz recorded the best ever finish for a driver starting 15th at this circuit in the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. He finished the race in fifth place – marking only the second time that the grid slot has supplied points.
Daniil Kvyat was first to score points having started 15th at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He finished seventh in 2016. The grid slot has scored a point in each of the last two seasons. Zhou Guanyu finished tenth on his F1 debut at the 2022, Bahrain Grand Prix while Alex Albon finished 10th in 2023. Nelson Piquet Jnr’s tenth place in 2009 is the only other top ten finish for the driver starting 15th.
Between 2014 and 2018, Kvyat’s seventh place was the only time that the driver starting here did not retire from the race. There have been no retirements since 2018.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 15TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 7 | 14 | DNF | 12 | 5 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
- Two points finishes – in 2004 and 2022
- Six retirements in total
16th has scored only twice at Bahrain International Circuit. Yuki Tsunoda’s eighth place finish in 2022 marked the first time the driver starting here scored points since Fernando Alonso’s sixth place in the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004.
Six retirements have been recorded from this grid slot – the most recent of which was for Nicholas Latifi in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 16TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 15 | 13 | DNF | 13 | 11 | 16 | DNF | 13 | 8 | 12 |
- Best result of 9th, recorded twice
- Only two points-scoring races
- Six DNFs and a DNS in total
Marcus Ericsson’s ninth place in 2018 was the second and most recent time that the driver starting 17th at the Bahrain Grand Prix scored a top ten finish. Daniil Kvyat’s ninth place finish in 2015 is the only other points-scoring race from 17th on the grid.
Drivers starting here have retired on six times in total, including in the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, when Nicholas Latifi failed to reach the chequered flag but was classified 18th. In addition, Stoffel Vandoorne recorded a DNS at the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix when he was due to line up 17th on the grid.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 17TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 9 | 12 | DNS | 9 | DNF | 15 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 13 |
- 2023 DNF ended 15-race finishing streak
- 7th place in 2017 is only points-scoring race
Until 2023, the18th grid slot had gone the longest without a DNF at the Bahrain Grand Prix. On his F1 debut, Oscar Piastri became the first driver to retire having started 18th in Bahrain since Vitantonio Liuzzi back in 2007.
A low DNF rate is one of the few enviable things about this grid slot. Sergio Perez’s seventh place finish in the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix is the only time in 20 races that the position has supplied points or a top ten finish.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 18TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 16 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 14 | DNF |
- Just one points finish from 19th on the grid
- Nine retirements in total – including a DNS
Statistically, 19th is one of the unluckiest grid slots in Bahrain. Drivers having started there have failed to finish the race nine times: Kimi Raikkonen in 2004, Scott Speed in 2007, Sebastian Vettel in 2008, Timo Glock in 2010, Charles Pic in 2012, Marcus Ericsson in 2017, Romain Grosjean in his fiery crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix and Nikita Mazepin after three corners on debut at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix. Jolyon Palmer failed to even make the start of the race from 19th in 2016.
Furthermore, the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix – in which Lando Norris finished tenth – marked the first and so far only time that the driver starting 19th scored a point. The previous best finish for this grid slot was 12th, which Patrick Friesacher and Charles Leclerc achieved in 2005 and 2018 respectively. Lance Stroll also finished 12th having started here in 2022.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 19TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 17 | DNS | DNF | 12 | 15 | DNF | 10 | DNF | 12 | 14 |
- Gasly became first driver to score from 20th in 2023
- No retirements since 2017
Until 2023, 20th was the only grid slot in the top 20 to have never scored in Bahrain. Rubens Barrichello finished ninth having started from 20th on the grid at the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix, but that was before points were handed out to the driver finishing in ninth.
On his first appearance with the Alpine team, Pierre Gasly equalled Barrichello’s result in 2023 and became the first driver to score having started 20th at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
There have been four DNFs from 20th on the grid – the most recent of which was for Kevin Magnussen in 2017.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 20TH ON THE GRID IN BAHRAIN
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | SAK | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| – | 17 | DNF | 14 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 9 |
There have been only two pit lane starters in Bahrain Grand Prix history. Kevin Magnussen finished just outside of the points in 11th place having started from the pit lane in 2016, while Sergio Perez made up 15 positions to finish fifth on his Red Bull debut in 2021. The Mexican’s moves saw him voted Driver of the Day.
