Teams, fans and drivers are gathering at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir for the opening weekend in the 2010 Formula One season - tipped by many to be the most exciting for years.
The season's 19-race calendar stretches over the eight months from Sunday's Grand Prix, through to a final race in Abu Dhabi on 14 November, but the sport returns after last season's breakaway controversy that threatened its future, and a closed season with an unusually high number of rule, team and driver changes.
While reigning world champion Jenson Button lines up alongside the 2008 title-winner Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, attention is focused on seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. The most successful driver in the sport's history, Schumacher retired from Formula One competition in 2006. He returns to take up a place at Button's old team of Brawn - taken over for the 2010 season by Mercedes as it too marks a historic return to the sport.
Lotus - itself an iconic name in Formula One - is also making a comeback, while a new Virgin-branded team makes its debut.
Among the raft of rule changes for this season are a ban on mid-race refuelling - a feature of the sport since 1994, and something that has traditionally had a big impact on race tactics - an increase from 22 to 24 cars on the grid, and narrower front tyres.
Perhaps the most significant change, however, is a shakeup of the scoring system that will see points awarded to the top 10 finishers, rather than the top eight. The points available have risen dramatically, with podium-sitters now awarded 25 for first place, 18 for second and 15 for third, rather than 10, eight and six.
Schumacher's performance is likely to be a key talking point of the season, as the 41-year-old veteran rejoins a grid said to comprise some of the strongest driving talent since the mid-1980s. The legendary driver will for the first time race head-to-head against high-achieving relative newcomers such as Hamilton and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.
The shakeup of teams, rules and drivers has left even seasoned commentators excited for the season, but unable to predict its outcome. Speaking during a break in pre-season testing, the Williams team's engineering director Patrick Head told BBC commentator Jonathan Legard: "Everybody keeps coming up and asking who's quickest, as if we should all know the answer.
"But I don't know the answer. Nobody knows the answer, and isn't that the whole point?"
