Trulli: Adaptability is the key

The race, to be held at the Bahrain International Circuit, will be brand new to every team in the field except for Williams, which did a demonstration run there in December with test driver Marc Gene.

Trulli, seventh in Australia and fifth last weekend in Malaysia, said he and team-mate Fernando Alonso will start work on Wednesday or Thursday, when they do a track walk with their engineers.

But after that, he said, it will be down to the teams to work on set-up at a track that they have not seen before and is bound to change once cars have run on it for a couple of days.

"You can discuss some points, but a map can only really tell you which way the corners go," he explained. "The test will come on Friday, because we are learning the circuit, deciding about tyres and trying to set the car up.

"The main key is to be adaptable. The only circuit you can drive on is the one you find at that particular moment. It definitely makes our lives harder, because we are used to racing in predictable conditions during the race, and we make set-up decisions accordingly."

Team-mate Alonso agrees that the unknowns surrounding Bahrain could throw up an unexpected result, although he believes that the fact that they will be driving on a new circuit will not change the fact that a combination of a good car, tyres and engine is required to win.

"To be honest, there is no substitute for lots of mileage," he said. "The more you do, the better you will know the circuit. All in all, after 10 or 15 laps, you normally feel comfortable with the circuit, and know which kerbs you can use.

"It will certainly be a tough race for the drivers, but beyond that, who knows? It is really impossible to make predictions but, with even more work to do than usual, the weekend will need to run very smoothly to fight at the front of the field."

Renault technical director Bob Bell said the grand prix will be a severe challenge to the reliability Renault has achieved so far this season. "Possibly the most important factor is that there is more opportunity to make mistakes, because you are working in less familiar territory than at a circuit you know well," he said.

"While, superficially, Bahrain may play less to the known strengths of our package, we believe the car is fundamentally capable of challenging for podiums at every circuit we visit."