Bahrain will probably be the first track you race at in F1 2021, but it's a tricky track to setup your car for. Follow our Bahrain setup guide for the best race setup in F1 2021
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Bahrain saw on-track action twice during last year’s season, and held the first race of the Formula 1 season this year. It’s a fun and challenging track for both driver and the team, and finding the best car setup is tricky, especially in F1 2021.
Bahrain is a track which features a good number of long-ish straights which would lead you to believe you should prioritise a low downforce setup. However, despite the number of straights, there are also a good number of tricky slower medium speed corners.
The middle sector in particular throws a number of slower corners at you including the fast turn 5, 6, 7 complex which requires very good rear stability and downforce.
Then there is the always tricky turns 9 and 10. This is undoubtedly one of the most difficult corners on the F1 calendar, and certainly the one part of a Bahrain lap where you’re braking skills will be tested the most.
Heading in to turn 9 and 10, you will be turning whilst travelling downhill. So when you hit the brake pedal, there is a strong likelihood of locking a wheel. This corner requires a very good brake setup and a good feel on the brake pedal.
Our Bahrain setup for F1 2021 below is a good compromise between speed and downforce. And it should provide a great base for race day during your career mode.
As mentioned above, Bahrain features a few long straights, most of which are good overtaking opportunities. This means you should try to have a very quick car in a straight line.
F1 2021 setups differ from last year’s game in the aero department, resulting in aero setups in F1 2021 which feature relatively high wing angles. The developers have adjusted the aero package of every car at every track, meaning 6-6 wings will produce different amounts of drag on each track.
So in F1 2021, we’ve found that setting your front wing angle to 6 and your rear wing at 9 gives the best compromise between straight line speed and rear downforce through the faster sweeping corners.
This is a similar approach to last year’s setup, but with a bump in the amount of front and rear wing we’re running.
When it comes to the transmission, we’ve gone for a setup which allows a little more turn in ability. This is created by lowering the off-throttle differential down to 58.
I’ve left the on-throttle differential higher at 68, which will allow for a good combination of traction and acceleration out of the slower corners. If you are struggling with finding traction out of turn 1 and 10, you can look to lower this down closer to 50-60.
Bahrain isn’t a tyre killer, as there aren’t too many heavy acceleration or heavy load corners.
This means we can setup our suspension geometry a touch on the aggressive side. Go for –2.8 and -1.8 on the camber setup. And 0.07 and 0.2 for the toe.
The less toe you run, the more stable your car will be in a straight line, and you will be able to achieve higher speeds due to lower amounts of drag.
Just like in F1 2020, you should look for a softer suspension setup at Bahrain. You will be driving over kerbs a lot to find the most lap time, so you really don’t want a twitchy car.
Go for a suspension setup of 3 and 5, an anti-roll bar setup of 3 and 5 and a ride height of 3 and 6.
F1 2021 as a whole requires a softer suspension setup, as the rear of the car can become a little twitchy if setup too stiff. You’ll also find your car is more sensitive on the ride height, so you should increase this a touch over last years setup.
Braking has been adjusted in F1 2021, meaning you have to run more front-biased brake bias to avoid rear locking.
The Best F1 24 Racing WheelsLook to run a brake bias of 56% and your brake pressure at around 95%. If you find yourself locking your front wheel into turn 10, you can lower your brake pressure closer to 90%. Although if you do lower your brake pressure, remember you will need to brake a little sooner.
Tyres are another part of your car setup which has been adjusted for this year’s game. This year, tyre pressures, wear and temperatures have all been given a tweak to be more simulation focused.
This means you will be running much different pressures in your tyres this year. Opting for tyre pressures of 21.8 at the front and 21.5 at the rear gives a good balance between longevity during a race, and outright grip.
And that is our most up to date race setup for Bahrain in F1 2021. It should give you a car which allows you to race and make overtaking moves during a race. But it will also help preserve your tyre wear making for a good, well-rounded race setup for career and My Team mode.
View all of our most recent F1 2021 setups, by visiting our F1 2021 car setups page.
See you on track.
Below is our setup video for Bahrain in F1 2021. Please feel free to watch, like and share if you enjoy this setup.
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Rich is the co-founder, and one of the main F1 setup creators and content writers for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers.
View all articles written by Rich
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