What began as a one-horse race has developed into one of the most intriguing Formula 1 seasons in recent memory.
World champion Max Verstappen won four of the first five races, suffering a mechanical failure while leading the other, but the last seven events have seen six different winners.
And there is scope for even more unpredictability in this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, hosted at a Baku City Circuit renowned for producing thrills and spills.
- CHARLES LECLERC TO WIN THE RACE
- ALEX ALBON POINTS FINISH
- LANDO NORRIS FASTEST LAP
In-form Leclerc Can Go Again
No driver has managed to win back-to-back races since Verstappen's Spanish Grand Prix triumph in June, but there is a good chance Charles Leclerc could follow up his success at Monza last time.
The Ferrari star added the Italian Grand Prix to his emotional Monaco triumph earlier in the season, and while those two tracks are the fastest and slowest on the F1 calendar, they do have something in common.
Neither circuit features much in the way of fast corners, a comment which also applies to Baku, and that seems to bring out the best in the Ferrari.
Leclerc's Monza triumph was due in large part to a strategy gamble paying off, but he had previously returned from the summer break with an excellent third place in the Netherlands, holding off Oscar Piastri's faster McLaren.
Leclerc sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him, but he has shown nerves of steel recently and will be full of confidence at a track where he has displayed great speed in the past.
CHARLES LECLERC TO WIN THE RACE
Albon Can Add To Tally
Alex Albon showed the potential of Williams' upgraded car in the Netherlands despite being disqualified from qualifying, and he confirmed it by scoring two much-needed points for the strugglers at Monza.
The car seems at its best on low downforce, low grip tracks. Albon was running in the points in Canada when he was taken out by an out-of-control Carlos Sainz, and Baku looks like the kind of circuit where the Williams can show its strengths.
ALEX ALBON POINTS FINISH
Norris Chasing Every Point
Lando Norris is 62 points behind Verstappen, but the McLaren man has not given up on the championship and rightly so.
The front of the grid is the most competitive it has been for years, but the McLarens are the machines to beat and with Red Bull having dropped down the pecking order the points gap could diminish quickly.
Norris isn't making life easy for himself, with a string of poor opening laps, while the team have also made some costly strategic errors.
However, one area Norris has exploited is the extra point available for setting the fastest lap of the race. At both events since the summer break, Norris has grabbed that bonus point on the last lap of the race.
In a championship which could be won by the smallest of margins, that seems set to be a strategy he will continue to pursue.
LANDO NORRIS FASTEST LAP
