It's the final race of the season and, therefore, the final Balance of Performance update from the ACO and FIA, for the 8 Hours of Bahrain.
The championships will be decided at Bahrain and so the BoP updates are of particular interest, given how tight especially the manufacturers' championship is, with only 10 points between Porsche and reigning champions Toyota. There's also a close battle between Alpine, BMW, Peugeot and Cadillac, to see who can win 'best of the rest', with Alpine currently leading that fight.
Weight
The big story is here Toyota and Ferrari have both lost weight: -5kg for Toyota, -2 for Ferrari.
Ferrari last lost weight for COTA - 5kg - and they were quick there, winning the race and taking pole. They haven't lost as much for Bahrain, so presumably the hope is they won't have as much of an advantage in the Middle East as they did in the US.
That said, Toyota were also very strong in the US — Kobayashi caught Shwartzman at the end of the race but couldn't past him — and they gained 5kg, instead of losing it. The last time Toyota lost weight was for Le Mans, losing 11kg compared to Spa. And, as we know, Toyota was very strong at Le Mans.
Toyota's weight for Bahrain will actually be very similar compared to Spa; the Japanese-German cars will be 1kg heavier in the Middle East when compared to Belgium. While Sakhir International Circuit and Spa are obviously very very different tracks, it is interesting to note Toyota were not overly quick at Spa, slower than both Ferrari and overall pacesetters Porsche. They finished sixth and seventh in the end in Belgium.
But, they were quick in Fuji, despite the result, and losing 5kg plus gaining power will help their pace. Interesting!
'Best of the rest'
Alpine, Cadillac, and Peugeot have all gained weight, while BMW have lost weight, and Lamborghini have remained at 1030g, essentially minimum weight.
Alpine were strong in Fuji, finishing on the podium for the first time with the A424. So it makes sense they've been given an extra 4kg to play with. In Japan, Cadillac were quick over a single lap and weren't bad in the race. They've bounced around the same weight for a while too. Will be interesting to see how they do, in Chip Ganassi Racing's final WEC race with the Cadillac.
BMW were quick in Fuji too, finishing second and ahead of Alpine. They've lost 1kg, putting them 10kg lighter than Alpine.
Finally, Peugeot and Lamborghini. The French squad have gained 1kg, putting them on 1031kg. They achieved their best result of the year at Fuji, but as we'll see in a minute, they've gained power too, which should offset the weight change.
Lamborghini, as mentioned, remain at 1030kg as they continue to get a handle on the SC63.
Power
For the last three races, Toyota have been the least powerful car, by quite a margin. For every race since the BoP update for Spa, they've lost power, going from 516kW in Imola to a low of 493kW at Fuji.
They've now gained 6kW back. Generally the Japanese-German team has struggled in qualifying over a single lap, while they've been quicker in the race. Bahrain has some multiple longish straights, so it will be interesting to see if the GR010 can use this extra power to make overtakes, especially at turn 1 and turn 4.
There's only 4kW between Ferrari and Porsche now, with the 963 still more powerful than the 499P (and GR010), a trend that has continued for most of the season. All three have gained power compared to Fuji.
Further down the grid
Peugeot have gained 7kW compared to Fuji. This vaults the 9X8 over and above Alpine, Cadillac and BMW, all of whom have lost power. Will the French squad be able to unlock this power? Fuji indicated they are beginning to get understand the 'new' 9X8, where they finished fourth. Bahrain should suit the car, being very smooth, although the surface is abrasive, making it hard on tyres.
While Lamborghini may be the lightest car, the SC63 is less powerful than the Cadillac, Alpine, and BMW. That means they're also less powerful than the Peugeot, with which there's 1kg difference.
After 250pkh
If Peugeot are the most powerful car in general, they lose out massively when the car passes the 250kph point. They lose 5.2% power, putting them on 492.96kW. That's significant, especially at Bahrain where corners open up after straights to aid overtaking.
Toyota, meanwhile, will be the most powerful car after 250kph, although they've lost 1.2% compared to Fuji. They've still got significantly more post-250kph power than Ferrari and Porsche, though – their main rivals.
Stint energy: close call
As usual, the energy the cars can use over a stint is fairly close.
Porsche have the most, 911MJ over a single stint, 3MJ more than at Fuji. Peugeot have the least, at 903MJ.
Ferrari and Toyota sit on 905MJ and 908MJ — an extra 4MJ compared to Fuji for Ferrari. Toyota's energy remains the same.