Over the course of the last three Formula 1 seasons, Mercedes have failed to win just eight Grand Prix. Over the course of the last three races, they have been beaten twice. If Ferrari can hand Mercedes another defeat this weekend in Sochi for the Russian Grand Prix then they must be favourites for the title.
Sebastian Vettel leads the standings by seven points from Lewis Hamilton and, at last, it is looking like the battle royale between two of the fastest drivers of all time for the title.
What to look out for
As well as the battle between Hamilton and Vettel, both Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas need to have a strong weekend and try and beat their respective team-mates this weekend, or risk becoming Number 2 drivers in the team.
Bottas is strong in Russia, having scored a podium in 2014, was on course for a podium in '15 before he was punted off by Raikkonen and came fourth last year. He needs a repeat this weekend, or his Mercedes career is set to become whiping boy for Hamilton.
Elsewhere, the mid-field battle will be as close as ever, with Williams leading the pack, and everyone else bar McLaren and Sauber involved, at a track like Sochi, it could be a tense battle to get out of Q2 and score points in the race.
Danill Kvyat returns to the scene of his Red Bull demotion from 12 months ago, when he rammed Vettel twice on the opening lap, which led to his first expletive laden rant of 2016. To spite Vettel, Kvyat is sporting a torpedo on his helmet this weekend, in reference to Vettel's criticism of his driving in last years Chinese Grand Prix.
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The Track
Set around the Olympic Park for the 2014 Winter Games, the 5.848km Sochi Autodrom is, in effect a street circuit and a 'Point and Squirt' circuit, with a high number of 90 degree corners, two long straights and a long radius corner, at Turn 3.
The track is traditionaly very low on tyre degredation, and the race will be a one-stopper.
Where will I see some overtakes?
The two prime overtaking spots are at Turns 2 and 14, both at the end of the DRS zones. Turn 1 is just a kink on the road, so the first real corner is at Turn 2, with there almost certainly going to be collision at Turn 2, as things tighten up for the tight apex.
Will it rain?
Not likely. Temparatures by the Black Sea are expected to be in the mid to high 20 degree region, with the mountains and the sea encompassing the circuit.
What tyres are Pirelli bringing?
Pirelli have opted for the softest range of tyres this weekend, with the ultra-soft being the softest brought, with the soft tyre being the hardest compound available. The super-soft tyre will also be available for teams to use.
As ever, Pirelli have brought the intermediate and wet tyres to Sochi although these should only be used for pit-stop practice.
For the first five races of the season, Pirelli have pre-selected the mixture of compounds that each team and driver will get.
From the Monaco Grand Prix, they will be free to mix their compounds as they did last season, but as Pirelli are not 100% sure on the loads the new tyres are expected to go through, they have decided to play it safe, until it can analyse the data from the new cars and make sure the tyres are safe.
This time out, teams will have seven sets of the ultra-soft to use, four of the super-soft and two sets of the soft tyres.
When is it on?
The familiar European timings make their first appearance of the season, with FP1 underway at 09:00am UK time on Friday and Qualifying and the Race underway at 13:00pm on Saturday and Sunday.
As ever, Sky Sports F1 will show live coverage of the entire weekend, as will Channel 4 for freeview viewers.
First Practice - Friday - 09:00am - 10:30am
Second Practice - Friday - 13:00pm - 14:30pm
Third Practice - Saturday - 10:00am - 11:00am
Qualifying - Saturday 13:00pm - 14:00pm
Race - the 53 laps of the 2017 Russian Grand Prix get underway at 13:00 on Sunday afternoon.
All times in BST.