2012 Spanish Grand Prix Review

First of all, best wishes for a speedy recovery to to all those affected by the fire which broke out in the pit garages after today's race. 

Before this season, the prospect of a Pastor Maldonado victory in Barcelona would have seemed fanciful at best.  Before this weekend, it would have appeared vaguely possible but also improbable. However, as the Spanish Grand Prix meeting progressed, the realisation dawned that the Venezuelan and the Williams were becoming genuine contenders to ascend to the top step of the podium here.  Even allowing for this, the concept of Maldonado as a Grand Prix winner is taking some getting used to!  This detracts not at all from his performance and achievement;it is wonderful to see another new winner, and many will be delighted in particular for the Williams team and Sir Frank.

Alonso lost out in the second round of pit-stops, but thereafter Maldonado displayed commendable composure and maturity, not being fazed by a less than perfect third pit visit.  He managed to keep Alonso at arm's length.  If anything, it was the Ferrari which was looking ragged in the final laps.

Afterwards, Alonso seemed phlegmatic, and after all he is very handily placed in the standings, and may be seeing recent F1 developments in a different light to certain of his rivals.  His priority has been improving the Ferrari's competitiveness, whilst some others are tying themselves in knots psychologically over tyre difficulties.  That said, Alonso is keen to reserve judgement on any improvements to the car.

Some of the post-race interviews I found quite revealing.  Messrs Vettel, Button and Webber all evinced varying degrees of bemusement with the outcome of the race, and the precise reasons or explanations for the failings of their cars. This seemed most pronounced in the McLaren driver, who now looks pessimistic and baffled by events.

By contrast, one driver whose weekend suffered a major setback on Saturday emerged from proceedings with his pride intact, and with some credit.  Lewis Hamilton limited the damage from his misfortune in qualifying as capably as could have been expected, racing aggressively but sensibly.  His post-race interview was one of some defiance.

Another strong showing from Lotus, although there may be substance to suggestions that they are not currently maximising their potential, seemingly having some performance "in hand", but not fully exploitable, towards the end of races. It surely will not take much of a realignment for them to be challenging for victories.  On paper, Monaco should suit both the car and the drivers.

One other driver worthy of praise today was Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, who drove a race combining slick pace with the odd audacious passing manoeuvre.  His team-mate Perez might have featured more prominently but for that first-corner altercation.

A frustrating day for Mercedes, with Schumacher colliding with Bruno Senna (and picking up a grid penalty for the next race), and Nico Rosberg being another one of those bemoaning "tyre management" difficulties.

Often in the past, the commencement of the European phase of the season has seen a restoration of normality, and the natural order of things. This has emphatically not been the case this season, and I can envisage more of the same in Monaco.....