This weekend, Italy's legendary Imola circuit provides the next stage for seven-times Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and young pretender Max Verstappen where the pair will square off for round two of the battle the sport has been craving.
The circuit - Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari - with the Santerno river lining a verdant backdrop of trees and parkland, is a marked contrast to Bahrain's stark desert track at Sakhir that hosted the opener won by Mercedes' Hamilton.
But it is very close, sports bookmakers such as Olybet have given both drivers similar odds for Sunday's race at one of the sport's most iconic venues.
The fast and flowing anti-clockwise layout is also narrower and bumpier than Bahrain, and with fewer opportunities to overtake which means track position and strategy will play a bigger part.
Verstappen has started the last two races - Abu Dhabi at the end of last season and then Bahrain in March - on pole position and the 23-year-old will be looking to complete his hat-trick.
His car should be well-suited to the circuit characteristics, with the Honda engine also looking a match for Mercedes.
"I´m feeling really relaxed going into this race weekend in Imola, I´m looking forward to going back there," said Verstappen, who crashed out 12 laps from the end last year after a sudden rear tyre failure while in second place.
"We had a positive start to the season so hopefully we can keep that up but it won´t be easy and we need everything to work perfectly to beat our main competition."
Hamilton, winner last year at Imola after a two-day weekend without Friday practice, held off Verstappen against the odds in Bahrain after the Dutchman had dominated the weekend but Mercedes know they have some catching up to do.
"We may have won the first round, but we're under no illusions that this will be a straightforward season," said team boss Toto Wolff.
"The car is still lacking pace over a single lap and Red Bull appear to have the edge right now. We're pushing hard to close the gap, and this is a challenge we relish."
Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas, who took pole at Imola last year when the race returned after a 14-year absence, also has something to prove after finishing third in Bahrain.
So too does Mexican Sergio Perez, lining up for his second race as a Red Bull driver after going from last to fifth in Bahrain.
"I think it´s going to be very tight with Mercedes and we´re going to see if the fight is circuit related," said Perez.
"It will be interesting to see how we are in Imola, on a very different track to Bahrain, and see how we compare against them."
Imola is also a home race for Ferrari, with Spaniard Carlos Sainz racing in Italy for the first time since he moved to Maranello from McLaren, and Red Bull-owned Faenza-based AlphaTauri.
AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda, the Japanese who in Bahrain became the 65th rookie to score on his F1 debut, has tested at Imola and could again be one to watch.
The race, whose full title of 'Formula One Grand Prix of Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna' is unlikely to be favoured much by television commentators, will again be held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin)
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Reuters Facts & Stats
- Lap distance: 4.909km. Total distance: 309.276km (63 laps)
- 2020 winner: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes
- 2020 pole: Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes 1:13.609 seconds.
- 2020 fastest race lap: Hamilton 1:15.484
- Lap record: Hamilton, Mercedes 1:15.484 (2020).
- Start time: 1300GMT (1500 local)
Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola
- At last year's race in November, Mercedes sealed the constructors' championship for the seventh season in a row.
- The race, at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, is named after the surrounding region for the second time.
- Anti-clockwise Imola hosted the 1980 Italian Grand Prix and then from 1981 became home to the San Marino Grand Prix until 2006, when Michael Schumacher won for a record seventh time.
- Sunday will be the 29th F1 world championship race held at the circuit.
- Brazilian triple world champion Ayrton Senna and Austrian Roland Ratzenberger died in accidents over the 1994 race weekend.
- The circuit is fast, bumpy and quite narrow, making overtaking tricky. The pit lane, at 528 metres, is also the longest of any used this season.
- Hamilton and Alpine's Fernando Alonso (Renault, 2005) are the only current drivers to have won at Imola.
- In the 28 races to date at Imola, only nine have been won from pole. Another nine winners have come from second on the starting grid. No winner has started lower than fifth.
Grand Prix Victories
- Hamilton has a record 96 career victories, of which 75 have been with Mercedes, from 267 starts. He has been on the podium 166 times.
- Ferrari have won 238 races since 1950, McLaren 182, Mercedes 116, Williams 114 and Red Bull 64. Former champions McLaren and Williams have not won since 2012.
Pole Position
- Hamilton has a record 98 career poles.
- Red Bull's Max Verstappen has started the last two races on pole position. The team have not had three in a row since they were dominant in 2013.
Milestone
- Hamilton's victory in the Bahrain season-opener was the 300th by a British driver. It was also his 75th for Mercedes.
- Alphatauri's Yuki Tsunoda became the 65th driver to score on his F1 debut.
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