After the most dramatic offseason in recent Formula 1 history comes its longest ever season.
Thursday practice for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix launches the first of 24 race weekends. Champion Max Verstappen — sixth in the first practice — is among several drivers raising concerns about the impact of a relentless schedule.
As practice got underway, the focus remained on Red Bull and its team principal Christian Horner. He remains in charge after the team's parent company in Austria said on Wednesday that a grievance made against him was dismissed after an internal investigation.