Less than a week after the Malaysian Grand Prix, where Mercedes thundered to its first one-two finish since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, Formula One sets up shop in Bahrain for round three of the 2014 F1 World Championship.

Mercedes will remain in good spirits for this weekend’s Bahrain GP. The car is perfectly suited to the layout of the Saakhir International Circuit.

The Sakhir circuit offers more stop-and-go corners and more throttle time than the twisty Malaysia circuit. No need to compromise super speed on the straights for downforce through the turns. Most of the corners in Bahrain are around 160kph or less.

The circuit is also very demanding on fuel. This could be a game-changer for teams like Red Bull, who’ve had fuel flow sensor issues in both races so far this season.

This is the tenth outing for F1 to the Saakhir International Circuit and with this anniversary, the Bahrain Grand Prix presents a new challenge to teams and drivers – the first race under floodlights in the desert as Bahrain joins Abu Dhabi as the second twilight race on the F1 calendar.

The cooler evening temperatures lead to changes in balance and grip levels so teams have their work cut out for them. They do already have data on these conditions which they would have gathered at the two pre-season tests held at this circuit.

The lower temperatures will favour the cooling capabilities of the new power units which has been an issue for some teams leading up to the start of the 2014 season. Red Bull in particular had a very difficult time with overheating power units.

Mercedes will be the team to beat as the sun sets over Bahrain on Sunday. One thing is certain – we are in for a visual spectacular!