Thumbs up for Bahrain circuit

Drivers reported that while the circuit was slippery off-line, the general grip levels were better than expected. And the teams, to a man, have been impressed by the infrastructure and facilities.

"The real significance of today is the new Bahrain circuit," said BAR team principal David Richards, "It is such a great new venue. It is an incredible facility and a testament to the vision and hard work of all those involved."

Ferrari's Jean Todt added: "I must congratulate the organisers who, under the direction of Bernie Ecclestone, have done an extraordinary job building this most modern of circuits. Bahrain is a new experience for the world of F1 and offers a backdrop outside the circuit that is more reminiscent of a rally than a grand prix."

Jenson Button said: "The high speed parts of the track are very much like Sepang and the low speed corners are a little bit similar to the new Hockenheim. It's a mixture of the two but it's got a bit of everything, which is good. I like it. Probably the only thing is that the exit kerbs are very difficult to see. When you are at the apex they are a little bit blind and seem to run off the circuit a little bit too much."

How much kerb you can take is always part of the learning process at a new circuit and Button added:"You can't ride them too much. The exit kerbs maybe a little bit but not the apex ones, which are very big."

With 10 cars covered by a second in Friday practice, Button is confident of a similarly tight contest for the rest of the weekend.

"I think it's going to be pretty close. It's going to be like Malaysia a little bit, I think. And in terms of overtaking, it can get slippery off-line but it should be possible down the inside of Turns 1 and 4. The hard thing is going to be the tyre choice. The track was improving so much that it was hard to know where you are. We should be in better shape than some because we had three cars and Anthony [Davidson] did a lot of laps, but it's still going to be very difficult."