Back in 1971, there were no live broadcasts, which meant fans back in Europe simply had to imagine the sun shining at Kyalami throughout the season-opening South African Grand Prix – though pictures of McLaren’s Peter Gethin sporting an impressive bucket hat might have helped. Clearly this is the inspiration for Lando’s slightly more technicolour effort…

One of the perks of using the Bahrain International Circuit as a pre-season testing venue and now, as the location for the first race, is that it has very roomy garages. The McLaren crew back in 1975 weren’t quite so lucky. Their M23, like this year’s MCL35M, was a carryover car featuring some wholesale aerodynamic and drivetrain changes – though here at the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix the dimensions of their workspace weren’t quite so generous as those we’re enjoying this weekend…

There are certain traditions surrounding the first race of the season, one of which is the driver group shot. Over the years this has become more complex, to the point now where the drivers will stand, sit, and pose with their cars, with and without their helmets, with and without messaging and with and without dignitaries. F1’s small army of highly skilled photographers, ably assisted by F1’s small army of press officers, have to assemble the drivers on the grid and liken the process to herding cats – but the images they take will be used to symbolise this F1 season for decades, perhaps even centuries, to come. 

It’s a new season and a new driver in the McLaren garage as seven-time grand prix winner Daniel Ricciardo fires up the MCL35M and heads out down towards the pit exit and Turn One. The last time Formula 1 started the season at the Bahrain International Circuit, we had another seven-time grand prix winner sitting in the cockpit for the first time. Jenson Button had a rough first race of his McLaren career, finishing seventh at Sakhir – though he did go on to win two of the next three… 

The big change at the Bahrain Grand Prix since F1 last held its season-opener at this circuit is the move to a night race. The light projectors went up in 2014 and the race has begun at sunset ever since. The atmosphere is different now; there’s more excitement in the air and the races seem to have more drama. And while spending less time on track during the hottest parts of the day is kinder to cars, tyres and drivers, the Bahrain International Circuit still pushes the endurance of all three to the limit.

At the start of the season, everything is a little more obsessive and the pitlane a hive of activity right up until a few minutes before curfew demands everyone leave. Back in 2010 – the final year before the curfew appeared in the Sporting Regulations – preparations would have continued until morning. And all the time, there’s a sense of keen anticipation in the air. For all the testing and the analysis, you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen when the season starts for real. And really, you wouldn’t want it any other way…