After a thrilling Chinese Grand Prix, which was won by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, Formula One heads to Baku with just nine points separating Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings.
Focus on... Will Max hit the reset button?
If its short history is anything to go by, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is set to be another mesmerising race.
One driver who cannot afford to get embroiled in chaos is Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The young Dutchman came into the season as a genuine championship contender but is yet to have a clean weekend in 2018, becoming the subject of intense scrutiny after clashes with championship protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in consecutive races.
After tangling with Hamilton on lap two in Bahrain, Verstappen took out championship leader Vettel in Shanghai to leave many questioning his aggressive driving style. At just 20 years of age there's no doubting Verstappen's talent but he could learn an awful lot from teammate Daniel Ricciardo's performance in China, which featured a number of precise overtakes en route to Red Bull's first victory of the season.
Verstappen must look at the first three races of the year as a learning curve and treat Baku as a chance to redeem himself and get his championship charge back on track.
In need of a win? Mercedes
Over to you, Mercedes.
Ferrari and Red Bull have taken out the opening three races of 2018 leaving Mercedes without a win, albeit still leading the constructors' championship. It's the first time since the beginning of the V6 turbo era that the Silver Arrows have had a three race stretch without a win, so it's fair to say it's unfamiliar territory for Toto Wolff's team.
Hamilton had a rare out-of-sorts weekend in China and comes to Azerbaijan seeking redemption after a loose headrest cost him victory there last year. Bottas on the other hand has shown consistency in the early stages of 2018 with back-to-back runner-up finishes. Can he go one better?
In need of points? Romain Grosjean
After qualifying in Australia you wouldn't have believed it if we told you Romain Grosjean would go three straight races without registering a single world championship point. Haas appeared to be the clear leader of the midfield and the experienced Frenchman looked to be in prime position to cash in.
However, things haven't quite gone to plan for Grosjean who is currently P17 in the drivers' championship and yet to score his first points while teammate Kevin Magnussen has already banked 11.
Tyre talk
Available compounds: Soft, Supersoft, Ultra-soft
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— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) April 17, 2018
Pirelli's pointers:
With the race starting just after 4pm, track temperatures cool rapidly as the sun begins to go down. It's worth noting that none of the free practice sessions take place at exactly the same time as the race start.
Because Baku is a street circuit tightly enclosed by buildings, there are many areas of lights and shade, making track temperatures even harder to assess
The main straight is two kilometres long, which means that the tyres can cool down before the braking area at the end of it.
One of the biggest challenges for drivers last year was warming up the front and rear tyres at the same rate. With cooler conditions, this problem is likely to be accentuated in 2018.
Minimum starting pressures: Front 22psi, rear 21psi
Weather forecast
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been moved from June to April this year and with it has come a noticeable dip in temperature. Sunny weather is forecast throughout the weekend, with highs of 24C on Friday and Saturday, but air temps are set to drop to 18C on Sunday.
Baku is known as the City of Winds and strong gusts are expected to blow in from the Caspian Sea on both Saturday and Sunday, potentially making for unpredictable conditions in qualifying and the race.
Betting
For the fourth race in a row, Hamilton is the favourite with bookmakers at 5/4 while Vettel is marginally back at 13/8. However, with a nine point lead, the German is a slight favourite to take out the world championship at 10/11 odds while Hamilton is at 11/10.
Fancy something a little different? If you think Ricciardo will be making an off-season move from Red Bull to Ferrari you can get paid out a handy 9/4.
ESPN's prediction
It's tough to make any predictions after a crazy Chinese Grand Prix but form lines suggest Ferrari and Vettel will once again be the ones to beat.
Winner: Sebastian Vettel
Bonus prediction: Haas to score its first double-points finish of 2018