While it was always said that this afternoon's qualifying session would tell us who's really hot and who's not, this morning's practice session, especially in the wake of yesterday's pick 'n' mix effort, gave us a few clues.

Firstly, the McLaren, unlike 2011, has pace straight out of the box, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button both looking at ease with the MP4-27.

While Sebastian Vettel's off deprived us of a run on low fuel, teammate Webber's pace, especially on the harder rubbers, indicates that Red Bull is more than capable of picking up where it left off last year.

While there is talk of protests regarding the legality of its rear wing, Mercedes has clearly taken a step forward, though those repeating a re-run of 2009 - when Brawn dominated the early season - may be jumping the gun.

And then there's Ferrari. While some had been claiming that the Maranello outfit was sandbagging, this morning's performance, on the back of yesterday's, reveals that the Italian team is really struggling. Indeed, there are some who claim one or both drivers might fail to make it to Q3. Bottom line is that the car has no grip, though there's a lot more to it than that. When Pat Fry warned the tifosi not to expect a podium this weekend he wasn't joking.

While Maldonado's late charge to eighth appears to confuse the issue, Grosjean's excellent lap on softs indicates that Lotus has real pace, though teammate Raikkonen is still at ease with certain aspects of the E20.

While the Force Indias disappointed and Sauber appeared typically Swiss, the Toro Rosso duo looked good and well matched.

Despite the promise of pre-season testing, Caterham has not made the leap forward expected, while Marussia and HRT remain rooted at the back.

It's all far too early to call, but even at this stage we feel it's safe to say that McLaren and Red Bull have the edge, with Mercedes to keep them company, and Ferrari appears set for a long, difficult season.

Although there was no doubting the dominance of the Red Bull/Sebastian Vettel package last year, there is no doubt that Sunday afternoon's were made that little bit easier by what usually happened the previous afternoon. If Hamilton, Button or whoever is to seriously challenge for the title this season, they must take on the German in qualifying and win. And today is the perfect time to start.