The wait is nearly over as the 2020 Formula 1 season is poised to commence this weekend at Australia’s Albert Park circuit.

The Formula 1 paddock will travel nearly halfway around the globe to reach the destination of the first round of the new season. They’ll leave behind not only their base of operations but also the expectations that six days of running in pre-season testing may have suggested. The testing at Spain’s circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya plays a crucial part in the teams’ own understanding of what they have produced for the first few races of the 2020 season. And while they may have some inclination as to where everyone stands it wont be absolutely confirmed until Sunday’s race.

The threat of coronavirus has already prompted Formula 1 to announce a postponement of the Chinese grand prix. A few days ago the Bahrain grand prix organizers, in conjunction with F1, revealed that the race would go ahead but without any spectators in the stands. German commercial broadcaster RTL has said that it will not be sending any journalists to the first three races of the season. RTL holds free-to-air broadcast rights for Formula 1 and will be broadcasting remotely. Italy too has announced a quarantine of spanning large parts of the country. Nevertheless, Ferrari and Formula 1 are confident that all will be in place for the season-opening race.

With the show set to go on there is also the added complexity of the make-up of the Albert Park circuit. The temporary, semi-street track is unlike any other on the calendar. The mixture of medium speed corners and three relatively short straight bits puts a bigger emphasis on braking stability. Still, Australia isn’t always the best indication of the pecking order. But there is still a potential twenty-six world championship points up-for-grabs for whoever wins the race and/or set the fastest lap.

Though the sharp-end of the grid seems likely to be dominated by the Big Three the mid-field promises to be an incredibly close battle. The stagnant regulations have meant that the 2020 cars are evolutions of their predecessors. It has, potentially, given teams the opportunity to put right any missteps there may have been in 2019 and the occasion to improve their designs for this season.

The expectation is that Mercedes will arrive in Australia with the quickest car with Red Bull and Ferrari, in that order, trailing the Silver Arrows. But Formula 1 is after all a sport that is infamously unpredictable, especially at the start of a new season. There are still questions however. Has Mercedes sorted the reliability issues suffered in pre-season testing? Did Ferrari run to their full capability? Is Racing Point genuinely nipping at the heels of the Big Three?