Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 season opener – live!

Sergio Perez’s Red Bull underwent a precautionary change of energy store earlier, but apparently it’s nothing to worry about. “Hopefully he can have a good debut race for Red Bull this afternoon,” says Christian Horner, who expects Mercedes to “throw the kitchen sink at it”. Perez starts in 11th.

How they line up:
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
7. Lando Norris (McLaren)
8. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
11. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
12. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
13. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
14. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
15. George Russell (Williams)
16. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
17. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
18. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
19. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
20. Nikita Mazepin (Haas)

And another familiar name enters the fray today: Mick Schumacher, son of Michael, will take to the track for the Haas team as the most-scrutinised rookie F1 has seen for decades. As this interview shows, he talks a good game:

Fernando Alonso makes his F1 return today after two years away. “I have to get better myself first of all because even today it was like the very first time on these gritty tyres and gritty qualifying session,” he said yesterday. “It’s going to be the first time doing a formation lap, the traffic lights, the first corner action. It seems like simple things for a racing driver but after two years it’s going to feel again like new for me.”

And here’s our report from yesterday’s qualifying, when Max Verstappen hinted at a very exciting season indeed:

And on that possible swansong – here’s Giles Richards’ piece on a big season for Lewis Hamilton:

Rampant domination is all well and good, but sport is always best when there’s a healthy dose of stiff and bloodthirsty competition. Which is why the history of Formula One is, at heart, a history of rivalries: Senna and Prost, Hunt and Lauda, Hill and Schumacher.

Verstappen and Hamilton is unlikely to join that list of all-timers but, for now, a rivalry of any sort would be very welcome. And, with the new season upon us, the early signs are good. Lewis Hamilton has had a nice run of rampant domination. But now, all being well, he might just be in for a year of bloodthirsty competition.

All the talk before yesterday’s qualifying was that Max Verstappen and Red Bull could this season give Mercedes their toughest test since 2014 – talk that was vindicated by Verstappen’s superb pole, steaming in four-tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton. Whether him and Red Bull can make good on that early promise over the course of the season remains to be seen. But a win in Bahrain today would lay down an early marker that says Hamilton’s swansong – if that’s what this campaign proves – will be anything but a walk in the park.

Buckle up! Race starts at 4pm BST.