Two other rookies to impress in recent months are Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman, and both should be in contention to add to their points tally this weekend.

Hadjar has arguably had the best season of all the rookies on the grid and heads to Qatar with five top-ten finishes in his last eight races, including a stunning maiden podium in the Dutch Grand Prix. He will have one eye on a potential promotion to Red Bull and looks set for a strong finish to the season.

Bearman has had a more tumultuous season than his colleague, but he has shone in the improved Haas recently, taking a fifth successive points haul in Sin City last weekend.

Lando Norris may still have his first World Drivers’ Championship within reach, Max Verstappen is just 24 points behind the Briton heading into the penultimate race of the season, and the Dutchman thrives under this sort of pressure.

After spending much of the season out of contention for race wins, Red Bull’s improvement and Verstappen’s sheer brilliance have led him to eight consecutive podium finishes and four race wins in this period.

He has won each of the last two Qatar Grands Prix and knows that a win would keep him in the fight for the championship in Abu Dhabi next weekend.

Red Bull’s pit crew could play a defining role, too, with the Qatar Grand Prix effectively a mandated two-stop race.

After teams ran their tyres to the edge of safety last year, Pirelli and the FIA have limited each set of tyres to a maximum of 25 laps this weekend, locking teams into a two-stop strategy. Red Bull have won the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award in four of the last six Grands Prix, with sister-team Racing Bulls taking the award in another, and that minute edge could make all the difference in a sport of extraordinarily small edges.

Kimi Antonelli produced the best drive of his short Formula One career in Las Vegas, crossing the line fourth and ahead of George Russell. He was demoted to fifth due to an unfortunate start procedure infringement before being promoted back to third after McLaren’s disqualification, and he could earn his third successive podium in Qatar.

The Italian teenager has recovered from a difficult European leg of the season to shine in the latter stages of the campaign, finishing in the top six in five of his last six Grands Prix and, after playing second fiddle for most of the season, passing the chequered flag ahead of teammate George Russell in each of the last three.