The Bahrain Grand Prix gained my seal of approval before it even started by being the first race of the season to start at a civilised time for those of us in Europe, but it would've kept me wide awake even if it did start at five in the morning.
With a wide variety of strategies, plenty of places to overtake, and a Safety Car for good measure, it was a big step up from last time out in Japan in terms of entertainment.
Here are my main takeaways from the race.
Is Piastri the new title favourite?
In my pre-season predictions, I said that Lando Norris would win the title and that Max Verstappen and the Ferraris would be his biggest challengers. I thought about putting Oscar Piastri in that chasing pack, and am already regretting that I didn't.
For the second time this season, the Aussie dominated his teammate, and did so even more emphatically this time around. He was almost half a second faster in qualifying, and didn't let the Brit or anyone else get anywhere near him for the entirety of the race.
He wasn't only faster, but so much steadier too. Norris got a penalty for a false start, very nearly got another for exceeding track limits, and had to give back a position for an illegal overtake on Lewis Hamilton, whereas Piastri didn't make a single error.
I'm still not sure the 24-year-old has more pace than the other McLaren when Norris is at his best, but he certainly seems to have more poise.
As a result of his win, the 24-year-old is only three points behind his fellow McLaren driver in the standings. His title challenge is on.
From Magic Max to Mad Max
It looked like Verstappen was very much set to compete for the title himself when he produced an absolute masterclass at Suzuka, but doing so will be all but impossible if Red Bull keep making things as hard as for him as they did in Bahrain.
The biggest issue was that they simply didn't give him a good enough car, with theirs comfortably the fourth fastest all weekend. When Max Verstappen is only qualifying in P7, you know there's something wrong with the machinery.
To make matters worse, they then messed up his pit-stops in the race, first with a broken traffic light and then by struggling to get off his front right tyre. That and some severe tyre degradation ended his hopes of competing for a top-five finish, let alone a podium.
It was clear after the race that he wasn't a happy man, saying the issues were "not to our standards," and the team will know they can't afford to fall below those standards too often with Mercedes and Aston Martin sniffing around in the hopes of stealing the Dutchman for 2026 and beyond.
The most competitive grid in years
Four rounds in, I feel pretty confident in saying that this is the strongest Formula 1 grid in a long time, both in terms of drivers and teams.
I lauded the 2025 rookies in my last column, and they were hugely impressive again in Bahrain. The star was Ollie Bearman, who finished in P10 after starting at the very back, and only bad luck stopped Kimi Antonelli from scoring big points on a weekend in which he qualified well and pulled off a great overtake on Verstappen.
Maybe with the exception of Lance Stroll, every driver has a place on the grid largely because of their talent, with the pay drivers of yesteryear looking like a thing of the past.
They all have decent cars to drive too. With Pierre Gasly finishing in P7 for Alpine, every team now has at least six points, more than the amount scored by the lowest-scoring constructor in seven of the last 10 seasons. And we're only four races in.
There doesn't look to be a car or driver that's way off the pace, and that's great for the sport.
