2010 Spanish Grand Prix Preview

The 2010 Spanish Grand Prix sees Formula One return to Europe after a pulsating and draining opening four Grands Prixs. The Circuit de Catalunya is located not far from the wonderful city of Barcelona and is a circuit known all too well by the teams and the drivers. For the majority of the close season winter testing, the teams come to Catalunya to test their new machines. This is thanks to the circuits unique testing layout of fast straights, sweeping corners and some very tight corners which give the circuit a little bit of everything to test the driver.

The start of the European season is a significant point in any Formula One season. With the opening fly-away events out of the way, the European season stretches across the summer and into the final few races. Effectively, the title can be won and lost in the European season. Jenson Button managed to do just than in his Brawn last year, as he managed to create a points advantage so large that no matter what other teams did, he always remained out in front.

For this particular race every team arriving at Barcelona will have some sort of upgrade on their cars which they hope will produce some kind of advantage in their push for that win or much needed points. After their one-two in China, Mclaren come to Catalunya with an upgrade package aimed improving the cars performance in the dry as their two wins this season have come in changeable conditions.

Ferrari's changes between China and Spain have probably been the most as the Scuderia want to get closer to the front of the grid and improve their reliability, which has seen two engine failures for Fernando Alonso and similar problems for Felipe Massa and Sauber, who use Ferrari engines. Ferrari during the three week break have gone to the FIA to ask could they make small changes to their engine and have had their appeal approved by the sports governing body. Also during the three week break, the Italian team has continued to develop their own version of Mclaren's innovative F-duct which improves drag and hence, improves overall speed. Ferrari will be hoping such changes to the car will be able to get them closer to the top step of the podium, which they havent been to since the opening round albeit luckily.

For the other teams around the Grid the Spanish Grand Prix is a chance to either improve or continue their currant form. Renault have been by far the surprise package of the season, with Robert Kubica scoring plenty of points in the opening rounds which has heightened speculation of a 2011 move to Ferrari. Jarno Trulli and Lotus believe that their season starts in Spain, with plenty of improvements to the car which they hope can see the new team push to make it out of Saturday's opening qualifying.

But spare a thought for struggling Virgin F1. After the first volcanic ash cloud kept many teams in China for an extra couple of days, Virgin suffered the worst. The team has already had woes in it's fuel tank department when it was discovered their tank was too small and unable to complete a full race. The delays in China mean only one car (First driver Timo Glock) will have an upgraded car for Spain, while Lucas Di Grassi's tough baptism of fire into the sport looks set to continue.

The stage is set for a very competitive Spanish Grand Prix. Though the circuit in the past has failed to live up to its expectation as the opening round of the European leg, the 2010 version could do the circuit justice. Alot of the drivers on the grid know the circuit like the back of their hand through testing and it will be interesting to see which team has made the most of the three week break after China. Red Bull Racing have had four pole positions in a row but only one race win to their name. The Spanish Grand Prix will probably be seen by many in Red Bull as almost a must win race after their recent woes. Mclaren, Mercedes and Ferrari will all hope with their recent upgrades that they will be able to keep on the pace with the team from Milton-Keynes. The anticipation for the Spanish Grand Prix is just as high as it was for the opening round of the Championship, lets hope we dont have a similar Bahrain bore.