It would have been a crying shame had Romain Grosjean not been given the chance to show his true colours again after his disappointing first Formula One stint back in 2009. On Sunday in Spain the young Frenchman and his on-form Lotus will start from the second row, one place behind Fernando Alonso, the man indirectly responsible for his previous F1 exit. And Grosjean will no doubt be out to show his former team mate just how times have changed

The biggest task on a Friday of perfect weather was for teams to bridge the two-compound gap between Pirelli’s chosen hard and soft tyres, something that had many of them scratching their heads. The other priority was to see how the updates tried in Mugello last week performed in the more familiar surroundings of the Circuit de Catalunya.

Despite teams’ varying programmes, just a second covered the top ten cars in Friday practice in Barcelona, proof indeed of just how tight things will be this weekend. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel is riding high on the back of his Bahrain win and a positive Mugello test which has almost certainly boosted the RB8′s performance. Now he wants to plant it on pole on Saturday

Fernando Alonso set Spanish hearts racing here in Barcelona on Friday morning by taking his Ferrari to the fastest time in the first practice session, nearly fourth-tenths of a second clear of Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull.

In the build-up to this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton says he won’t be treating the event any differently even if it does start the first European leg of the 2012 championship. “It’s the same as any other race. To come into the European season and have high expectations is the wrong way to approach it in my opinion

A glance at the 2012 driver standings shows that in terms of points at least, just like Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, Paul di Resta is the man currently delivering for Force India. Fresh from his eight-point haul in Bahrain – but a less satisfactory Mugello test – Di Resta is looking to continue his upward trajectory in Barcelona this weekend

The only official F1 Timing and Track Positioning App, from Soft Pauer, is now available for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Demonstrated at last week’s BlackBerry World event, the app includes an array of great features and over 130 hours of live racing action, making it a must-have for any Formula One fan

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes there is a ‘reasonable chance’ they will use a new raised nose on the MP4-27 at this weekend’s Spanish round. The British team evaluated the much higher nose set-up, which is part of a wide-ranging update to the car’s front aero package, during the final day of last week’s in-season test at Mugello. Unlike many of their rivals, who opted for a stepped design to fulfil new nose height regulations brought into force for 2012, McLaren chose to comply by keeping the whole front end of their chassis lower

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve was behind the wheel of a Ferrari 312 T4 on Tuesday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of his father, Gilles. Villeneuve was in action in the Ferrari at the Italian team’s Fiorano test track

The 2012 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix takes place on October 26-28 and tickets are now available on Formula1.com. Making its second appearance on the F1 calendar, India provides a race-going experience like no other