There was a massive sense of anticipation as the drivers took up their positions for Sunday's BahrainAn island country in the Middle East with a population of 1.7 million.  Grand Prix. It was the first race of the new Formula 1 season and the first with Max VerstappenA Belgian-Dutch driver. His father also raced in Formula 1. as reigning champion. Would his arch-rival Lewis HamiltonThe 37-year-old British driver has been world champion seven times and won more Formula 1 races (103) than anyone else. regain his crown, or would a new challenger emerge? The cars' engines gave a thunderous roar - they were off!

Verstappen had won the title in the most controversial circumstances. After a season in which the two drivers had clashed frequently on and off the track, Hamilton had an apparently unassailable lead in the final race, in Abu Dhabi. But then a car crashed, and when the race was restarted, it was in a way that gave Verstappen a massive advantage. Hamilton had to watch helplessly as the title was snatched from him.

Since last season, however, there have been far-reaching changes to the rules, intended to make overtaking easier and races more exciting.

A leading car is always at an advantage because the turbulent air behind it reduces the downforceAn aerodynamic force that pushes the car down on the track, increasing the grip of its tyres. of the car following. Last season the reduction amounted to 43%. But the new design rules make it just 15%.  

Some of the teams have adapted their cars far better than others. During the Bahrain Grand Prix, Verstappen's Red Bull car was able to lap 0.7 seconds faster than Hamilton's Mercedes - a considerable advantage in F1 terms.

Another car, though, was 0.1 seconds faster still: Charles LeclercA 24-year-old driver from Monaco.'s Ferrari. It gave him pole positionThe front position on the starting grid goes to the driver with the fastest lap time on the circuit before the race. and ultimately victory after a thrilling race in which he and Verstappen swapped the lead five times in two laps.

But in the final stages, both Verstappen and his teammate Serge Perez had to drop out with fuel problems. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was left to take second place on the podium, and Lewis Hamilton third.

There has been a surge of interest in F1 racing, thanks to the Netflix series Drive to Survive. It is estimated to have increased the sport's TV audience by 4% last year, to 1.55 billion.

Since it first screened in 2018, the average age of fans has fallen from 36 to 32. And since 2017 the percentage of female fans has risen from 10 to 18.

Most motorsport programmes just focus on the races and the cars. But Drive to Survive, in the words of The Observer's Alexis Moshakis, "transforms the twists and turns of a regular season into captivating melodrama, and makes heroes and villains out of its drivers and team owners".

Some, though, accuse Netflix of manipulating the truth to create extra drama. "They create a spin to the narrative," says Toto Wolff, head of the Mercedes team. "They put scenes together that didn't happen."

It has even been suggested that the disputed decision at Abu Dhabi was made to give TV viewers a Netflix-style thrill.

Others argue that F1 racing is not a sport at all. It could perhaps be considered one if every driver had the same car. As it is, the people who win the races are the designers and mechanics. Someone who sits in a car cannot be considered an athleteA sportsperson. The term derives from a Greek word meaning to compete for a prize.. 

Yes: Driving a Formula 1 car requires enormous skill, stamina, bravery and determination. If it did not, you might as well race remote-controlled cars, which would not be half as interesting to watch.

No: No competition can be a sport if it depends more on equipment than on human beings - or if crowds watch it mainly in the hope of seeing spectacular crashes or bust-ups between competitors. 

Or... People have such widely differing views of what constitutes sport that it is impossible to say. The dictionary definition suggests that it should involve physical exertion, but does not insist on it.