Formula One fans could be forgiven for low expectations of the upcoming season considering the ease with which Max Verstappen claimed his third straight Driver’s Championship last season. All 20 drivers who finished the last campaign return for the season opener in Bahrain this weekend but it would be a brave person to predict that will remain the case by the year’s end. Some have called the 39-year-old’s move to Ferrari at the end of the upcoming season, the biggest driver switch in F1 of all time. Last year saw qualifying for Sunday’s full-length race take place in this slot. It will come as a surprise to no one that Verstappen won four of the six Sprint races last term, with his teammate Sergio Perez winning another. Across 22 full-length races and six Sprint ones, only four drivers tasted a race win; Verstappen, Perez, Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri.

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