You've still got time to make your podium predictions.

Head here to tell us who you think will finish in the top three.

Image source, .

The drivers line up at the front of the grid for the national anthem. A big round of applause follows it before the drivers quickly scatter to get back to their cars and prepare for the race.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are looking happy and calm as race time approaches.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

Hamilton had really tough day yesterday. He had a good day on Friday and then temperatures cooled and it has been windy all week and Lewis has not been able to get on top of it at all. What makes it worse is he is behind his team-mate.

Joanna Harran: Happy race day everyone. Lets hope it’s a good one. Come on McLaren, keep those points coming.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

This could be a fascinating race, not least because of the uncertainty of tyre strategy.

On the face of it, Ferrari and Mercedes have a simple choice - a one-stop starting on the soft tyres they used in Q2 and switching to the mediums. But that makes the prospects of Mercedes beating Ferrari look slim, if they all get away in position. So will someone mix it up?

On paper, the top four have a significant advantage over those behind them in the top 10 starting on ultra-softs, including the Red Bulls, who would be expected to two-stop, with either two stints on ultras and one on softs or vice versa. But it seems that a one-stop starting on the ultras and then changing to mediums might be possible - depending on how the tyres work in the hotter conditions.

Meanwhile, in theory the cars just outside the top 10 - Kevin Magnussen, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso - should have an advantage over those seventh to 10th - the two Renaults, Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean - because the top 10 qualifiers have to start on the ultras, whereas those behind can go for the top-four strategy. But will that necessarily be quicker? There is not much difference in pace between the three tyres, but the ultra degrades much faster, again favouring the soft-medium route. No-one actually knows. It’s a delicious mystery. Or at least it promises to be.

This Chinese dragon face is freaking me out a bit at this time of the morning.

Image source, Rex Features

I'm still getting caught out by the ten past the hour race start time. I've spent the last 10 minutes wondering why the pitlane isn't open yet.

Anyway, it is now, so off go the cars to the grid.

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso qualified 11th in Australia and 13th in Bahrain and China, so it is pretty obvious where the team’s car is at right now. And that is a long way from where they expected it to be.

The latest explanation for this poor performance is that, according to racing director Eric Boullier, the car matches the performance targets the team set “so that means maybe the target was not the right one. So we need to revise in terms of ambition what we need to achieve”.

That’s a medium - to long-term issue rather than a short-term one. Short-term, Fernando Alonso is still optimistic of a strong race. “We definitely need to find more pace on Saturdays,” he said.

“On Sundays we are more competitive. Points are very possible but we need to find more pace on the next races.”

Jeremiah Kariuki: What can Hamilton do to first, keep off collision with Max Verstappen, and two, to progress forward for a podium finish? He will need his Party Mode, composure and good luck.

Number of laps: 56

Lap record ️: 1:32.238 (Michael Schumacher, 2004)

Circuit length: 5.451 Km

2017 winner : Lewis Hamilton

Image source, .

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

What on earth has happened to Toro Rosso? After Pierre Gasly starred in Bahrain - where the team always seem to go well - it has been back down with a bump in China, and Brendon Hartley and the Frenchman are 15th and 17th.

"We knew top 10 would be difficult, but [we expected to be] around P11, P12, and actually to be a couple of tenths behind," said Gasly, who was in exactly those positions in the two Friday practice sessions. “We made a massive step back compared to yesterday, we lost a lot of performance, and that's what we didn't really expect.”

He said he had “massive oversteer” after changing the set-up overnight. Hartley said he suspected that the cooler weather and wind had badly affected the car. “Not saying I have the answers but it seems to be a trend, it happened in Australia in the race as well. Every other time that it's been hotter we've been more competitive, and every time it's been windier we seem to suffer a lot more than others.”

Two wins from two races and looking very good for a third win of the season today, have Ferrari now overtaken Mercedes?

How do you see today's race panning out? Let us know your thoughts via #bbcf1 or text in on 81111 (UK only)

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Red Bull hope to finally get a chance to see their race pace in China on Sunday after two grands prix where that has not been possible for various reasons. They start fifth and sixth, Max Verstappen ahead, after an impressive effort to turn around Daniel Ricciardo’s car following a turbo failure in final practice.

It was impressed upon Verstappen by team boss Christian Horner on arriving in China that he needed a clean weekend, and he has delivered other than a near-miss with the wall in Friday practice after a spin. But he, too, had engine issues in qualifying, even if nowhere near as bad as Ricciardo’s.

“It is quite realistic where we should have been,” the Dutchman said. “The energy deployment was not perfect. The whole weekend was not smooth, a bit like Bahrain, but in general it was not a bad qualifying.” Red Bull looked quick on the race runs on Friday - as they have in all races so far this season. “In the race it should be closer,” Verstappen said. “A clean start is the most important.”

Ricciardo is optimistic they can mix it up. He feared Ferrari might be a bit too fast, but feels “Mercedes look within reach”.

Max Verstappen is bidding to unleash the lion from fifth on the grid. He's got Lewis Hamilton (fourth) for company. That could be something to watch after the two tangled at the start of last week's race.