Formula 1 is heading to Malaysia for the Bahrain Grand Prix; the south-east Asian nation providing an unusual setting for a race that should have taken place a) back in April and b) over 4,000 miles away.
The sport last raced at the Sepang International Circuit in 2017 -- meaning more than half of the grid are set to take it on for the first time. Some, meanwhile, weren't even teenagers on the day Max Verstappen triumphed ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo.
Ahead of this weekend's race, ESPN has rounded up what all 22 drivers were doing at the time of that last Malaysian GP.
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Lewis Hamilton
At the time, Hamilton was a three-time world champion, having won his first title with McLaren in 2008 before adding two more with Mercedes in 2014 and 2015. He would win a fourth in 2017 -- and returns to Malaysia nine years later with seven titles to his name.
During the race nine years ago he finished second to Verstappen, who was in his second season at Red Bull at the time.
Hamilton shares the record for most poles at Sepang with Michael Schumacher, with five each, and he was the last driver on the current grid to take pole here.
Charles Leclerc
The Monégasque was racing in Formula 2 with Prema Racing and was the runaway leader at the time.
Leclerc did, however, get a taste of an F1 weekend as -- not for the first time -- he competed in FP1 in place of Marcus Ericsson. He was three-tenths quicker than Pascal Wehrlein.
Leclerc went on to win the F2 drivers' championship that same year, earning himself a spot in the highest tier of motorsport a year later as a full-time F1 driver for Sauber.
Kimi Antonelli
The Mercedes driver, who is currently leading the drivers' championship and is on course to be the youngest to hold the title, has never raced in Malaysia. He was karting in Europe at the time and was only 11 years old.
Antonelli, now 20, is 66 points ahead of teammate George Russell and has eight career victories in what is only his second season in F1.
George Russell
In 2017, the Englishman was racing in GP3 with ART Grand Prix and went on to win the championship that year in his rookie season.
He later made his F1 debut for Williams in 2019, so missed out on racing in Malaysia by two years.
Fernando Alonso
Alonso, who is now the oldest driver on the grid at 45 years old, was racing for McLaren-Honda in 2017.
At the time he was driving an uncompetitive car and finished the season 15th in the title standings, scoring points in only five races.
In Malaysia, he finished outside the points in 11th.
Lance Stroll
The Canadian has been in F1 for longer than most on the grid and was racing for Williams at the time. He finished eighth and picked up four points in what was his rookie season.
Alex Albon
Albon was regularly racing against Leclerc in F2 for ART Grand Prix in 2017. He finished his rookie season in 10th and two years later he made his F1 debut for Toro Rosso.
After a stint at Red Bull and a year as its reserve driver, he then signed for Williams in 2022 and has been there for the last five seasons. He joins the majority of the grid in racing in Malaysia for the first time.
Carlos Sainz
The Spaniard is one of the drivers who has raced here before when he was driving for Toro Rosso.
But it didn't last for long as he only completed half the race after suffering a power unit issue, which forced him to retire from seventh place.
Lando Norris
Norris was another driver who was racing -- and winning a title -- in a junior series, clinching the European Formula 3 championship with Carlin.
During the same year he joined McLaren's Driver Development Programme, before making his F1 debut in 2019 with the team.
Oscar Piastri
The Australian was competing in the F4 British Championship and ended up finishing the season second. He was racing for TRS Arden Junior Racing Team.
Esteban Ocon
Ocon, soon to be an F1 free agent, was racing for Force India at the last race here in 2017 and finished with a point in 10th.
Oliver Bearman
The young Briton was still karting in the UK. In 2017, he won the Kartmasters British Grand Prix in the Honda Cadet category at the age of 12
Max Verstappen
F1's four-time world champion was competing in his first full season for Red Bull after getting promoted early into 2016 after just one year under his belt at Toro Rosso.
He was only 20 years old at the time of the last race in Malaysia, but he won from third place after a dominant drive.
Verstappen passed Hamilton on Lap 4 and he was in control of the race from there.
Isack Hadjar
Hadjar joins the list as one of the youngsters who has never raced here. He was 13 years old at the time and was karting in France before progressing to the international scene.
Liam Lawson
New Zealander Lawson was competing in Australia in the Formula 4 Championship and ended up finishing second with his team BRM at the age of 15.
Arvid Lindblad
In 2017, Arvid Lindblad was competing in British karting championships, specifically racing in the cadet categories IAME Cadet and Honda Cadet.
Lindblad is the youngest driver on the current grid and was only nine at the time of the last Malaysian GP.
Franco Colapinto
Colapinto was competing at a high level in karting and won the Argentine Pre-Junior Karting Championship the year before.
In 2017, he won the Buenos Aires Regional Championship in the junior class, before moving to the UK to continue his racing career.
Pierre Gasly
Gasly made his Formula 1 debut at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, replacing Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso, and finished 14th.
Nico Hülkenberg
Hülkenberg was racing for Renault and finished down in 16th. The German driver had previously been at Force India.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Bortoleto was racing for CRG Factory Team in the OK Junior karting category in Europe after making the move from Brazil. He was 12 at the time.
He became a full-time F1 driver with Sauber in 2025, ahead of the team's transition to Audi.
Sergio Pérez
The Mexican driver has raced in Malaysia seven times during his F1 career. In 2017, he was racing for Force India and finished the race in sixth.
Valtteri Bottas
Bottas was Hamilton's Mercedes teammate and started fifth on the grid, finishing in the same position.
