Ohh, how it’s great to be back.

It’s been a long winter of livery launches, car launches, contract renewals and holidaying, but after 95 days – we know, it feels like much longer – and a full car-build programme, Formula 1 will finally return to competitive on-track in the Sakhir desert this Thursday for Free Practice 1, ahead of the long-awaited Bahrain Grand Prix.

Under the watchful eyes of CEO Zak Brown and Team Principal Andrea Stella, Lando, Oscar and the team have tested the MCL38 extensively on track and in the simulator, clocking in lots of physical and virtual laps ahead of a record-breaking 24-race season, but nothing compares to the real thing.

The team have been all smiles since touching down in Sakhir more than a week ago, but it’s now time to put their game faces on and get down to business. To prepare you for the first round of the season, we’ve compiled a preview featuring all of the key info, including the thoughts of the team, a guide to the circuit and some tips on what to wear.

“It’s finally here, our first race of the season! I’m looking forward to starting my sixth season in Formula 1 and with the team. We ended last season on a high, so hopefully we keep the momentum.

“It felt great to be back behind the wheel of an F1 car last week. Testing of the MCL38 went well, which is a good way to go into the race weekend. We learned a lot but there’s always more to get used to in a new car. A huge thanks goes to the team for their hard work in bringing the MCL38 to track. Let’s go!”

“I’m excited to start my second season in Formula 1. It’s great to be back in the car, and the MCL38 feels good.

“It was great to get substantial time in the car last week at testing. We learned a lot about the car, but this is when we really find out how we stack up against the competition. The team has done a fantastic job over the winter, and we’re all really happy to be back racing. It should be a fun season ahead.”

“The team is looking forward to going racing again. Last week we had three productive days of testing where we could work with the MCL38 to optimise performance and to let reliability issues emerge before the race weekend. We have gathered a lot of data ahead of the start of the season here in Bahrain.

“The entire team have worked tirelessly in the off-season to build the MCL38 and get us ready for the first race here in Bahrain. We have a long season of 24 races ahead of us, and our aim is to continue building on the upwards trajectory we established last season. Both Lando and Oscar have been working closely with their engineering teams over the last few months, and they come into this season prepared and ready to give their all.

 “As always, we’re grateful for the support we receive from our fans and commercial partners. It never goes unnoticed, thank you for your support once again.

“We’re not in a position to make any predictions on our competitiveness as testing is difficult to read, but we’re committed to delivering our best performance in every aspect of our operations and we’re excited to go racing again.”

Track insights

Bahrain always makes for a good season opener due to its propensity for overtaking. The circuit is built for close racing throughout, but the moves tend to come after lengthy duels in one of two places: the braking zone at the end of the main straight and the right-hander at Turn 4, just a few corners later.

The following 11 turns are aimed at letting cars get close to one another in anticipation of making a move, with the particularly challenging tight, off-camber 10th turn often catching drivers out, which allows those behind the chance to catch up and those in front to dash off into the distance during the subsequent DRS zone leading up to Turn 11.

The weather conditions add another layer of interest and ask interesting questions of our drivers and our engineering team. The direction of the wind can change 180 degrees during the day, and this sees sand being blown on the track from the desert, affecting grip levels. The temperature and light levels can fluctuate as well, with the race starting at dusk and finishing in darkness under the floodlights.

The season so far

Well, it hasn't quite started yet! We have just finished pre-season testing in Bahrain, clocking a distance of 1,775km on track despite a couple of Red Flag interruptions. You can hear how the team were feeling after the final day of testing here.

F1 translations: Degradation

F1 is full of specialist slang and complicated jargon that can stump even the most avid of fans, which is why we’ll be explaining common F1 terminology ahead of each grand prix this season, starting with degradation… 

Degradation is when tyres decrease in performance, giving them less grip and making them harder to handle. The hot and fluctuating temperature conditions of the Bahrain Grand Prix make this a particularly interesting topic this weekend.   

Degradation can be caused by a number of factors, most notably, temperature. Tyres will degrade more quickly if they are too hot or too cold, which is why you’ll hear drivers being asked to get their tyres in the “window”, referring to the optimal temperature for performance. Degradation can also be caused by the circuit surface, with rough tracks causing tyres to degrade more, and smoother tracks (such as a street circuit) causing less wear.  

Drivers themselves can influence degradation too. An aggressive driver who breaks heavily and accelerates quickly may gain time on track, but they will wear the tyres out more. Whereas, a smoother driver might not corner quite as quickly, but will gain lap time from making their tyres perform for longer.

F1 icebreaker

Stuck for conversation with your F1-loving friends? Spark up a discussion with our F1 icebreaker…

Bahrain became the first Middle Eastern country to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2004, with a total of three circuit layout configurations – out of a possible five - used in the 20 years since.

The fit: One of the team

If you’re a member of the Papaya Army, you’re one of us, and that’s why we make our team kit available to everyone. Whether you’re working for the team at track, back at the factory or cheering us on at home, you’re a member of the team - we couldn’t do any of this without you.

You’ll have all season to show off your funkier fits, but it’s the first Grand Prix of the season and what better to show your support than dressing in our swanky official team kit, capped off with one of our New Era hats. Papaya is the new black, after all.