With the excitement of Bahrain still in the air, Formula 1 has no time to rest as teams and drivers make their way to Shanghai for the Chinese GP this weekend.

Barely four days ago in the Middle East, Sebastian Vettel made it two wins from two holding off Valtteri Bottas in a thrilling finale, now though, he and main championship rival Lewis Hamilton head to a race which will very likely set the tone for the majority of 2018.

Because while Australia's Albert Park has the quirks of being a season-opener and Bahrain plays to the relative strengths and weaknesses of Ferrari and Mercedes, the circuit in Shanghai doesn't particularly suit anyone, meaning it is the best gauge of the two teams' relative performance.

The layout is also a true test of every aspect of the car with a mix of high, medium and slow speed corners, a back straight of over 1km where power is essential and tyre management is required through the long-radius turns, particularly the famous sequence at the start of the lap.

For this weekend, Pirelli has also changed up their tyre strategy by skipping a compound with the Medium, Soft and Ultrasoft set to be used.

Ferrari has gone much more aggressive than Mercedes with their selection too, so if the Scuderia can get the purple-marked tyre to work, it will offer a significant pace advantage.

That could be dependent on the weather, which is usually much more representative of most venues F1 visits and is why coming out on top will be a good confidence booster for whichever team is victorious.

It is possible the battle could be decided by something as small as whether Vettel can manage his handling issues at the front of his car, which he has complained about.

In the technical sector of the Sakhir track last weekend though, the Ferrari was the better car perhaps indicating improvements have been made.

Then there's Red Bull who still remain the unknown quantity after both cars retired in the first five laps last Sunday.

A need for greater downforce in the first two sectors could well suit the RB14 more than their rival and if they can remain competitive down the back straight there is every reason a three-team battle could ensue.

The problem, however, is managing a problem-free, clean weekend which so far, neither Max Verstappen or Daniel Ricciardo have managed this season.

If the intrigue at the front is high, that's nothing compared to the chaos of the midfield where, after last weekend, any predictions that come true will be through sheer luck.

Pierre Gasly and Toro Rosso shocked everyone by leading on what is meant to be a power circuit last weekend but the Honda engine was no barrier at all as the Frenchman eased to fourth place.

With Shanghai much more like Australia, it might be expected the junior Red Bull team could struggle again, but traditionally, higher downforce circuits have always been their strength so who knows!

Toro Rosso's rise also put an unwelcome light on McLaren's single lap woes as, for the second straight race, neither Fernando Alonso nor Stoffel Vandoorne made Q3 in qualifying.

That weakness won't change in a week either, so expect another case of both drivers using a much stronger race pace to make their way back into the points on Sunday.

Haas and Renault are the ever-presents in the top 10 in all sessions with solid, consistent cars that get the job done.

Of the two, it is the American team which remains the most impressive but, as Bahrain proved, one small mistake on a Saturday can be the difference between battling for P6 or P16 in the race.

Force India and Sauber also made their presence felt in Bahrain with top 10 finishes meaning after just two races, nine of the 10 teams have scored at least a point.

Going forward, it would be Force India that is expected to challenge more regularly as they continue to improve their car, but with good tyre strategies proving just as effective as performance, any result really can't be ruled out.

The only team not in that category is Williams with driver Sergey Sirotkin conceding they "looked like idiots" last weekend.

Still trying to understand their 2018 car, neither Sirotkin nor Lance Stroll look like moving the Grove-based team off zero points any time soon, with their best hope being the other midfield teams continuing to take points off each other.

Bring all that together and you have one of the most anticipated Grand Prix weekends in quite some time and one that could be unmissable.