Bahrain International (Bahrain)

Bahrain, Formula 1's first grand prix venue in the Middle East, is fast approaching a decade on the calendar.

While off-track political controversies have dogged the event over the past two years, the Bahrain International Circuit again takes its April slot on the schedule for 2013.
Located on the outskirts of island Kingdom's capital city of Manama, the Sakhir facility is still very much situated in the middle of the desert. That inevitably means it is one of the dustiest tracks anywhere on the F1 calendar, despite the organisers' best attempts to - would you believe - spray glue the sand.
With air temperatures invariably also in excess of 30 degrees, the three-day grand prix weekend is one of the most physically grueling for the drivers and mechanics and it is not uncommon to see some of the grid's biggest names looking even more exhausted than normal on the podium after the race.
The circuit's stop-start nature also places a premium on the brakes with four straights around the lap punctured by slow hairpins.
As one of the first of the new wave of grand prix venues to join the calendar in 2004, Bahrain raised the bar in terms of the quality of facilities needed to make the grade in F1, even if the 3.9-mile layout itself received something of a lukewarm reception.
Following accusations that it wasn't exciting enough, and in response to the grid's expansion from 18 to 24 cars, a twisty infield loop was added for the 2010 season-opener. However, not helped by a particularly processional race, the extension to the lap failed to find much support and the new-look was quickly shelved.
Indeed, ahead of the race's ninth staging, it's far to say that Bahrain has yet to produce a truly classic race.
Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher's duel to open the 2006 campaign - one of two times Bahrain has been given the honour of hosting the season-opener - was certainly tense, as was Sebastian Vettel's battle for the lead with Kimi Raikkonen last year.
From 11th place on the grid, Lotus driver Raikkonen proved overtaking is possible at Sakhir as he raced up to the back of the World Champion but, as the Finn himself later admitted, he didn't take advantage of his one realistic chance to overtake the Red Bull driver.

Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Although yet to truly capture the imagination of Formula 1 fans - local or otherwise - the Chinese Grand Prix has become an established, and commercially important, stop on the calendar since the space-age Shanghai International Circuit hosted its first race in 2004.

The most populous country in the world had been something of a glaring omission for F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone before then and it was no surprise that a contract extension up until 2017 has been signed, despite the event having run at a loss amid disappointing ticket sales.
What wasn't in doubt when the Shanghai circuit welcomed the F1 community nearly nine years ago was that the venue - which had staggeringly taken just 18 months to construct despite sitting on swampland - boasted facilities that set a new standard for future tracks to match.
Team personnel were immediately wowed by the purpose-built paddock buildings situated on a lake in the infield, while spectators sitting in the futuristic-looking main grandstand - which has a capacity of almost 30,000 - had the rather novel experience of being able to see nearly 80 per cent of the track from their seating positions.
The Hermann Tilke-designed circuit was also given an authentic local flavour with the twisty layout shaped like the Chinese character 'shang', meaning 'high'. The vision translates into a 3.4-mile layout that consists of seven left-hand and seven right-hand corners, punctuated by two long straights.
Turns one and two are virtually the same corner, before a switchback for three and four, and require a strong front end to prevent understeer mid-corner, as well as a strong rear, as the first part requires a quick entry speed.
Further round the lap and another long right-hander, classed as two corners at turns 12 and 13, leads onto what was, before Korea's debut in 2010, the longest straight in F1. Measured at a trifling 1170 metres, its length is the equivalent of 11 football pitches being put end-to-end and really gives the opportunity for a car to stretch its legs.
The most obvious overtaking spot on the lap is therefore in the braking zone for the following hairpin, while the subsequent short run to the final corner also gives drivers the chance to fight back before the main straight.

SEPANG INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT (MALAYSIA)

A permanent fixture on the calendar since 1999, the Sepang International Circuit has proven to be that rarest of thing: a well-liked creation of F1's omnipresent and much-maligned designer Hermann Tilke.

Another natural advantage boosting the circuit's reputation and the racing on view tends to be Malaysia's predictably unpredictable climate - expect blisteringly hot sunshine one minute and a tropical monsoon the next. Cue the entertainment of a mad scramble in the pits as teams and drivers try to determine what type of tyre to use.A sweeping, fast-speed circuit, it is actually built on a 260-hectare swamp. Yet what sounds like a misfortune has, over the course of time, become a boon: with naturally-made bumps starting to emerge on the track, the circuit has gained a welcome unpredictability compared to the 'snooker-table surfaces' elsewhere.

However, as always there can be too much of a good thing. In 2009, and against local advice, the race was moved to a late afternoon start for the convenience of the European television audience. F1 then had to learn the very wet way that evening storms are a regular occurrence in Kuala Lumpur and, following a biblical downpour, the race had to be abandoned due to heavy rain. Last year's race also featured a rain delay, although conditions eased to allow fans the chance to witness a tense battle between Sergio Perez and eventual winner Fernando Alonso.

In any case - or indeed condition - the Sepang circuit presents a difficult balancing act for the teams to master.

Although its characteristic fast-flowing corners demand downforce - with precious tenths to be gained through the long turn three, the left-right flicks of turns five and six and the adverse-cambered turn 13 - a set-up balance must be struck between adding downforce and facilitating top-end speed.

The pit-straight leading into the turn one hairpin, for illustration, is almost a thousand metres long. Any team or driver failing to respect that obvious overtaking opportunity when determining their set-up will, inevitably, be made to pay during the grand prix.

Albert Park Melbourne (Australia)

One of the most popular and friendliest venues on the schedule, Melbourne has become a firm favorite with fans and drivers alike since replacing Adelaide as the home of the Australian GP in 1996.
Though a source of controversy at the time - environmentalists claimed that the Albert Park Lake, around which the circuit runs and is named, was being damaged and turned into a playground for the rich - the transfer has proved hugely successful.

A temporary street circuit, with a mix of fast flowing corners and technical sections set amongst the trees and lakes of the park, its unique charm and challenge makes it ideal as a curtain-raiser for the new season.

Its timing is convenient in another respect, too: the race start has been pushed back to a local time of 5 pm in recent years to suit bleary-eyed European audiences - although the low sun of early evening in the Australian autumn can cause visibility problems for drivers.