The night air in Sakhir shimmered with heat even after the sun had long disappeared. Floodlights towered above the Bahrain International Circuit, their beams slicing the darkness into sharp-edged shadows that stretched across pit walls and the paddock’s polished walkways. Team motorhomes stood in immaculate rows, glass fronts catching and fracturing the white glare. Every surface seemed scrubbed to perfection, from the brushed metal railings to the deep blue carpets leading into hospitality suites. A black SUV slowed at a side entrance guarded by security in crisp polos, their radios buzzing with quiet exchanges. Credentials, marked with the stylised insignia of a sponsor with footholds in both IndyCar and Formula One, were scanned without pause. Inside, the air hummed with a different kind of tension: journalists murmured in clusters, team staff strode past in sharp uniforms, and in the distance, the muted pop of fireworks hinted at a show yet to come. The desert night felt electric, heavy with the quiet weight of introductions waiting to happen.