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

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

With pole position and victory at the season opener in Melbourne, 2012 couldn’t have started better for McLaren. Since then, though, hampered by tyre issues and pit-stop problems, they have not won a race. Team principal Martin Whitmarsh is confident that could change this weekend, as McLaren arrive in Spain with refined pit-stop procedures and an MP4-27 featuring several updates, including a new higher nose

Williams’ return to their championship-winning heydays may still be some way off, but they are undoubtedly enjoying an excellent resurgence in form in 2012. And after drivers Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado claimed the outfit’s first double points finish since 2010 in Shanghai on Sunday, the overwhelming feeling in the British team is one of optimism. Chief operations engineer Mark Gillan reviews Williams’ performance to date, looks back at the Chinese race and reveals his hopes for this weekend’s Bahrain round…

Ahead of this weekend’s 2012 Formula 1 UBS Chinese Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton believes that consistency will be paramount in what is turning out to be a close and so far unpredictable world championship fight. “I won’t deny that I’m disappointed to have had two pole positions and not to have been able to convert either of them into victories, but I prefer to think of it that luck just hasn’t been on my side, and that it will swing my way sooner or later,” he says after the first two races yielded two third-place finishes

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton may try to play it down, but his second-place finish at the European Grand Prix was unexpected. The British team had arrived in Valencia worried about the pace of rivals who had upgraded their cars in advance of their own

This weekend’s European Grand Prix marks the notional halfway point of the 2010 world championship title fight, and sees a whole load of teams bringing updates to try to make ground on their rivals. Local hero Fernando Alonso and team mate Felipe Massa are pinning their hopes on a big aerodynamic upgrade to the Ferrari F10, with which the Spaniard was a threatening third recently in Canada. McLaren have more new bits for their MP4-25, the winner of the last two races in the hands of Lewis Hamilton…

Over the coming races, Renault have a very clear aim – catch Mercedes GP in the constructors’ championship.

After Robert Kubica’s fastest lap at the last round in Canada, Renault will be hoping to get back on the podium in Valencia this weekend. Unlike some of his F1 colleagues, Kubica loves the Spanish street circuit, while team mate Vitaly Petrov not only knows it well from his GP2 days, he also lives in the city