Rear crash tests have only been made compulsory in F1 since 1997.
The new development led to the crash structure of the cars being strengthened even further. Giancarlo Fisichella benefited from this improvement in the same year, when he crashed backwards into the safety barrier at Silverstone.
An evaluation of the black box showed that his Jordan braked from 227km/h to zero in just 0.72 seconds.
In purely mathematical terms, 227km/h is the equivalent of a fall from a height of 200 metres... Fisichella came away with just a minor knee injury!
Braking down
(Information from F1 Brembo Data)
The circuit in Bahrain is made up of various corners. Turn no.1 is considered the most difficult where braking is concerned. Here are some details on this curve.
Initial speed: 320 km/h, final speed 70 km/h. Stopping distance - 140m, braking time 2.6 seconds. Maximum deceleration - 5.0g. Max. disc temperature - 1,000°C.
A driver's view
"In some ways, the circuit in Bahrain is quite similar to Melbourne," says Renault's Fernando Alonso. "There is a lot of hard acceleration and braking, without any really long, high-speed corners.
"The long straights mean we run downforce levels quite low in order to get good straight line speed in the race, so the car can be nervous under braking - and if you run wide in the slow corners, like turns 10, 13 or 14, then you will be defending your position all the way down the next straight.
"Good braking stability, to avoid locking the tyres in the race, lots of mechanical grip and a strong engine are what you really need to be quick in Bahrain."
2004 race in Sakhir
Michael Schumacher started on pole for the third race in a row and won for the third time in a row as well, with Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello following in second place. McLaren had a miserable weekend with both cars retiring. BAR's Jenson Button was third.
Race lap record: M. Schumacher, 1:30.252 (2004).
Bahrain GP time-table
Friday, 10-11 a.m. - First practice.
Friday, 1-2 p.m. - Second practice.
Saturday, 8-8.45 a.m. - Third practice.
Saturday, 9.15-10 a.m. - Fourth practice.
Saturday, noon - First qualifying.
Sunday, 9.30 a.m. - Final qualifying.
Sunday, 1.30 p.m. - Race.