Just six weeks after testing, we're back at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain for the Grand Prix.
We're three races down in this season and while it started off strong with an all-timer race in Australia, China and Japan did not live up to expectations.
The 5.4 kilometre long circuit has played a key role in recent world championships as the season opener. Key moments from the past include the two races here during the pandemic and the Mercedes battle of 2014 under the night sky.
Mac Verstappen won here last year by over 20 seconds in what seemed to be a walkover for him, but the season would prove to go only just in his favour.
He secured a brilliant victory at Suzuka with an almighty qualifying lap, but will he be able to do the same here?
The tarmac is older than some of the drivers, so tire degradation and bumps are a key factor at play here. With Suzuka being a circuit that was so easy on tires, the teams must devise clever strategies to get the jump on their rivals here.
Talking Points
McLaren's driver issues
Mclaren have been parading the fact that they have 'two number one drivers' for a while now, but it seems to be getting in the way of results.
Even though Verstappen was on another level back in Japan, the Mclarens were on him for their whole race. The team refused to swap them so Oscar Piastri could have a go at overtaking Max.
While it may have not played out in their favour, they would've looked more aggressive and have truly shown that there was no number 1 driver - instead it seemed like they just wanted Lando Norris to cruise to second behind Max.
The other teams have also laughed at their situation - the most vocal critic being Red Bull Boss Christian Horner. He believes that his rivals should clearly choose a number one from the start of the seasons to not shoot themselves in the foot later on.
This is the mistake they ran into last year, but decided to continue on their way to second in the drivers' standings. Let's see if the team will give clear communication this time round.
Williams strong, but midfield fight is fierce
While the top four have driven away, the back of the grid is heating up. Williams Racing are currently in the lead, but are bringing no upgrades this week, confident that they can bring more in the coming races.
It's surprising that they wouldn't bring any new parts to the car, seeing as this track is so easy to analyse after testing. They're sitting on 19 points in the standings, but Haas are just behind them with 15.
Alpine have not had a great start to the year with Jack Doohan crashing quite spectacularly in FP2 at Suzuka. The French outfit currently sit on nil points this year, with last year's back marker Kick Sauber already six points ahead.
Kick Sauber will be wanting to finish this year on a high as they start to transition into Audi next year. The more money they can find to invest in their new outfit the better.
Who to watch for
It's simple to say McLaren, as they have the fastest car, but fans should also consider watching Yuki Tsunoda.
This track is much more forgiving than Suzuka, meaning the Japanese driver can find crucial tenths to springboard his results in the team after a meddling Suzuka.
The Red Bull car is proving a difficult one to drive, but Yuki says he's confident that he'll see out the year at the front-running team with Liam Lawson (at the fledgling VCARB outfit) also struggling.
Race details
The Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix will take place at the Sakhir Circuit on Sunday April 13th. It gets underway at 6pm local time, which is 4pm in the UK on Sky Sports.
