What a great time to become Motor Sport’s new columnist, as we head into a Formula 1 season that looks set to be just what we’ve all been waiting for. I’m writing this before Imola, where of course anything might have happened. But what’s getting me excited right now, in the wake of Bahrain, is the prospect of a proper ding-dong championship – and Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are clearly both up for it.

For the first time in a long time Red Bull has come out of the blocks with the capability to win races. Okay, it didn’t work out in Bahrain, but it was finely poised. After testing, we wondered how far off Mercedes would be, but I  understand the gap was not as  much as it might have looked.

Before qualifying I thought it would be mighty close, but Max,  Red Bull and Honda were able to put in one of those Mercedesstyle ‘boost laps’ that gave him  pole position by nearly four tenths. I always enjoyed that feeling of going out in qualifying, putting your hand in your back pocket and finding that something extra. And on this occasion it gave us the front row we were all expecting – and wanted.

The race itself was a nice little battle on strategy, with Hamilton getting the undercut. It was typical Lewis: like Turkey last year he did the job and it was all a bit under the radar. Suddenly he had the advantage.

“Max should have forced Lewis on the dirt to pass–I would have done”

Then you could see the fight was on after the last pitstop. Max was catching Lewis, but probably slower than we expected. There was radio communication with them both: look after the tyres because you’ll need life in them at the end. Lewis told his engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington to leave him alone, and Red Bull said to Max, “We’ll leave you alone. If you need us, give us a call.” It ended up just as it should: everything was left to the drivers. That made it, for me, even more exciting: two brilliant drivers playing the game, like Prost and Senna, Häkkinen and Schumacher. It became raw.

The DRS-assisted overtake could have been a great move. Max got the advantage and you expected him to go for the outside at Turn 4. But Lewis knew he didn’t have to push him out, he just had to place his car in the right place and that’s all he did. He didn’t lean on him, but Max had to do all the work – and then ran out of track.

What surprised me was when Max had to let Lewis by he moved over on to the sand, off the racing line. Then he struggled, the car was a bit loose and he wasn’t able to catch Lewis, until that last lap when it started to come back to him. It’s as if that sand got into his tyres and lost him the pace. He should have forced Lewis to go on the dirt to pass. That’s what I would have done.

It’s fortunate they are in two different teams. The last time we had a proper duel was Nico Rosberg and Lewis in the same team, in 2016, and I remember one of the most frustrating races I’ve watched was the Abu Dhabi finale. Lewis was trying to be clever and back up the pack, to knock Nico into the fourth place that would allow him to snatch the title, which was a damn difficult thing to do. Then Mercedes got on the radio and told him to speed up, to stop holding everyone up. They’d won the Constructors’ Championship already, why did they have to interfere with the drivers’ battle? This time in Bahrain, with two different teams, each driver was left alone. That’s what everybody wants, these gladiators going at it in big, powerful, difficult F1 cars.

This rivalry could push Lewis on too, way beyond this year. There’s been a lot of talk about is he going to give up, is he losing interest? But just before Bahrain he said he still wanted to do more than just this year: “Why would you think I wouldn’t?” Yes, he’s on a one-year contract, but actually it’s a good place for him to be. Who’s to say he’ll stay at Mercedes? And who wouldn’t want Lewis Hamilton in their car? That’s easy: they all would. Yes, he’s massively motivated to get the eighth title, but I believe he’s also motivated to carry on too. But will Mercedes go on forever? That’s not usually how it works in F1. Lewis might have other options..

He’s already one of the greats – those numbers cannot lie – and Max… well, he’s a future champion too, isn’t he? Will it be his year? Could be. But it won’t be easy, for either of them. See you next month. I’m going to enjoy this.