Such is the Bahraini presence at Sepang this weekend that one has to wonder if they have brought some sand with them to blow on to the track at the appropriate moments.
With that in mind, despite media reports to the contrary, with no official confirmation of whether the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races will go ahead, one has to wonder what officials in the UAE might be planning for Christmastime in Italy.
Drivers, teams and broadcasters have been falling over one another in their efforts to praise the Sepang track, which, if we are honest, does show up the likes of the Madring and Miami for the disasters they are. But before we get carried away and start eulogising Mr Tilke let's not forget that it wasn't F1 that gave up on Malaysia, but Malaysia that gave up on F1.
Due to the increasing hosting fees, not to mention the inability to put bums on seats, officials in Malaysia called it a day as far as F1 was concerned and switched to other forms of motorsport.
Bear that in mind when 'Crofty' points to the packed grandstands today and the 'sold out' sign flashes, for no doubt the Bahrainis have underwritten most of the cost of race tickets in order to ensure a full house... which probably accounts for some of the horror stories coming out of the track this weekend in terms of how those attending the event are being treated and the lack of facilities.
As for the track, well it isn't so much the layout that is providing the thrills but rather the condition of the track surface, the state of which has turned Pirelli's simulations and data on its head. Indeed, it is widely anticipated that tyre deg will be the deciding factor today.
Track conditions improved progressively throughout Saturday, allowing the softs to deliver a very competitive level of performance in qualifying. Despite this, lap times were significantly slower than those predicted by the simulations, indicating that the track evolution was not sufficient to close the gap.
In the attempt to extract the maximum potential from the soft immediately, the degradation generated meant that no genuinely competitive laps could be completed after the first flying lap. At the same time, it demonstrated that it can maintain an acceptable level of consistency over race distances when brought gradually into its correct operating window over the opening laps. This could prove particularly important today, given the number of sets of softs retained by several teams.
Most drivers have two sets of hards available, which should provide a solid option for the longer stints thanks to their greater thermal resistance and lower degradation compared to the softer compounds. On paper, the medium-hard-hard and soft-hard-hard combinations appear to be among the most competitive.
There are, however, some particular situations, such as those of Verstappen and Leclerc, who each have only one set of hards available and may therefore consider different approaches, making greater use of the soft and medium compounds or even evaluating three-stop strategies. In this scenario, the range of possibilities becomes much broader, with shorter stints and increased flexibility. Whereas Leclerc has two sets of fresh softs available, his teammate and Verstappen have one apiece.
By contrast, we are unlikely to see one-stop strategies, which on paper offer no advantage in terms of total race time at a circuit where overtaking remains possible at several points around the track.
Finally, there remains an element of uncertainty related to the weather, indeed, two hours before race start it began to rain.
Of course, we have had had numerous false flags this season in terms of the Weather Gods, but many believe that today could finally see the 2026 cars put to the test.
Max Verstappen starts from pole today, his first time of the season and indeed the first time that a Red Bull Powertrain unit has started from the coveted spot, Toto Wolff now almost certainly sure that those behind ADUO got it right.
The Dutchman starts alongside his long-time nemesis Lewis Hamilton, with Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc, the McLarens and George Russell right behind.
While Toto will be keen to insist that he was right about the Red Bull engine, the Austrian will want to play down the much-anticipated upgrade his team has brought here, for, in his own words, it has taken Mercedes in the wrong direction.
While we know that the German team will soon be on top of the situation, this won't help Russell as he seeks to close the gap to his teammate. Having dominated the Baku weekend the British driver has been off the pace all weekend here just seven days later.
Isack Hadjar, who qualified third, will actually line-up on the fourth row of the grid due to an engine grid penalty, while Lindblad and Colapinto also drop back from their actual qualifying positions and line-up on the last row.
Energy management is certain to be a factor today which means that we are likely to see some yo-yoing, though hopefully not at the level witnessed at some circuits.
Other than tyre deg - we're not going to mention the weather for obvious reasons - track limits will be an issue, while a race distance could well see the extreme temperatures take a toll... on both man and machine.
While the earlier shower soon passed, moments before the pitlane opens it begins to rain again, and it's raining hard, we're talking Monsoon.
Verstappen is first out, his car sporting Inters. He is followed by Ocon, Perez, Gasly, Lawson and Russell.
"It's very localised," reports Lindblad, "it's dry in Turns 7 and 8."
Air temperature is 30 degrees, while the track temperature is 39 degrees. Humidity is 70%.
"They feel destroyed, these tyres are completely gone," reports Norris, his Inters no match for the abrasive track surface.
"All the cells are joining up, so we're expecting more rain," Antonelli is advised as Verstappen reports an issue with his steering wheel.
"It's wet, but the grip is quite high," says Hamilton.
The start will be delayed confirms Race Control as it warns of a 90% risk of rain.
Three minutes before the scheduled start it is still raining hard. Indeed, on a reconnaissance lap the Medical Car has a major wobble, much to the crowd's delight.
"Rain intensity has been steady for the last 10 mins and no improvement is forecasted for the next 5/10 mins," says the FIA.
Despite the fact that we don't know when the race will start, Williams has been fined €100 after Sainz was caught speeding in the pitlane.
"The Medical Car is reporting a significant amount of standing water around the track," reports the FIA. "Current conditions are not suitable to start the race."
"Sweepers and marshals are working on track to remove any standing water," says the FIA in an update, 25 minutes after the scheduled start time.
"The Medical Car is going on track again. The latest forecast indicates the rain intensity should decrease in the next five minutes."
At 15:30 Race Control advises that the formation lap will start at 15:40.
Although it is brightening up, the umbrellas are still up and the pac-a-macs still in place.
It remains unclear whether it will be a standing start or behind the Safety Car.
All are starting on Inters.
"Current thinking of Race Control is to do a minimum of two laps behind the Safety Car before a standing start," says the FIA. "This is subject to change based on feedback from drivers."
The field heads off on the formation lap. Hadjar aquaplanes off track and heads through the gravel, losing a number of places in the process, while Lawson is stuck on the grid.
"It's ******, I can't accelerate," says Verstappen, while Hamilton also appears to have a problem. "I'm pressing the throttle and nothing is happening," he tells his team as teammate Leclerc is also moving very slowly.
As Hamilton stops on the back straight, the Audi pair seems to have issues also.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Sepang here.
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