So... day one in Bahrain. While some of those with less industrious vocations (OK, journliasts...) had bemoaned the fact that we were starting in the desert, rather than the metropolis of Melbourne metropolis, it's actually - if you're a fan of motorsport and not just the après-ski - a good venue for the first race.

The Paddock is wide, the office facilities great, the garages a decent size, hospitality features tables outside (always a good sign) and the weather is guaranteed to lift the harshest of European winter blues. The only niggle so far was the good people at passport control, who despite a fast track lane, an ePassport Lane (no idea either) and a lane specifically for F1 personnel failure to clear the queue in anything approaching a decent speed. That and the Manama traffic which is terrible. Still we're here, it's hot compared to chilly Milton Keynes and dry compared to rainy Spain and we're racing. The Paddock has a real back to school feel to it, there's a welcome to newcomers and a ‘bloody hell, didn't four months go quickly?' to the old guard. Add to that the circus which Mr Schumacher appears to draw, and there's a decent atmosphere around the place - perhaps the pre-race hype billing of the best F1 season ever might just be accurate.

Mark Webber also commented on how much he had to pack into the day, media-wise. We're still surfing the wave of last season's success and the attending media want a comment from both of our drivers on everything from ‘How do you feel about driving against Michael?' (answer: ‘Once I'm in the car I don't look at their name or nationality) to 'do you pray?'

Bahrain also, despite some comments to the contrary, knows how to put on a party. Red Bull did it in some style when we again started the season here back in 2006 and welcomed Toro Rosso to our fold and tonight there's a Red Bull Night Race event at the Coral Beach Club (if you're passing). The Red Bull Night Race is essentially a night club which gives itself over to being a pit lane for the night with punters trying their luck at changing tyres on an F1 car. If you do go, don't forget to post some pictures.

While our own, fully qualified mechanics have been working extremely hard over the winter to improve their overall fitness and pit stop precision in particular, there are certain members of the outfit (mentioning no names, Marketing) who have let things slip. So at least two of them have decided to run every track every Thursday of every race. The end result was not a pretty sight, two men in their 30s who didn't have a weight advantage and whose chassis looked a little last season...

So, tomorrow the waiting ends, the showboating/sand-bagging is over and we find out a little bit more about who's had the most productive winter.

But - who's going to come out best tomorrow? Go on - who do you think will top the Friday timesheets?