Watch Bahrain GP live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend; Qualifying at 3pm on Saturday, lights out at 4.10pm on Sunday
Thursday 28 March 2019 06:31, UK
The new Formula 1 season offered the first tantalising glimpses of what it has to offer in Australia - but there remains far more questions than answers heading into this weekend's Bahrain GP.
With teams and drivers stressing that 2019's trends won't become clearer until after the opening flyaway rounds are completed, round two in the heat and humidity of the Bahrain desert is therefore just as tough to call as Melbourne.
What appears less uncertain is the likelihood of the flowing Sakhir circuit providing an entertaining race.
Since becoming a floodlit event five years ago, Bahrain's reputation for a wheel-to-wheel racing venue has been transformed - with some of the most thrilling on-track battles seen anywhere around the F1 world taking place around this circuit since 2014.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes: "We've seen the potential of Ferrari's package in Barcelona, so we expect them to come back strong in Bahrain, with Red Bull in the mix as well."
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari: "In Bahrain, as a team, we will have to ensure that we have understood and rectified the areas where we were weak in Australia, which therefore meant we were unable to fully exploit our car's potential. In Bahrain, we expect to see the effect of the corrections we have made, although we are well aware that our competitors will once again be very strong."
Max Verstappen, Red Bull: "Starting the season with a podium in Australia is really positive but Melbourne is not a typical circuit, so we can't get carried away, and I don't think we will really know where we stand until after China."
Cyril Abiteboul, Renault: "We are determined to show more in Bahrain. We have to underline the step we've made on the engine side, and the second Grand Prix of 2019 is an opportunity to showcase that."
Gil de Ferran, McLaren: "Carlos and Lando have shown to have integrated well into the team. We continue to focus our minds on two areas; achieving incremental gains that will have a steady impact on our results throughout the season, and executing the whole race weekend well."
You don't want to miss the duel in the desert!
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