A quarter of the season has now passed and with a 14 point lead in the championship, Michael Schumacher might seem to be sitting fairly pretty. Ferrari, however, have just taken the lead in the Constructors' championship and are only three points ahead of Williams, which doesn't seem so much.

Forty points have been won in the Drivers' championship, and when you're sitting on single figures like Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard, then 28 points suddenly seems a lot to catch up. But for the last two years, at this stage in the championship, the gap was almost the same between Michael and Mika: 22 points.

At this stage of the season, development parts are coming through on a regular basis. Teams that were short of testing are beginning to make big strides forward. With Barcelona being made ready for the race, many teams were testing at a warm Silverstone and Mugello last week. There's much work to be done, and now teams can do all the testing that they have missed since the start of the season, and the first three fly-away races.

Surviving!Circuit de Catalunya

Actually, it's not that hard surviving the circuit. It's easy to get around, the organizers are consistently striving to improve it, which is good news, and they don't get a massive crowd, so it's easy to get in and out. There's even a good rail link to the center of the city, some 15 miles away and it's not blazing hot at this time of year. All in all, it's a pleasant race to be at.

There are a couple of downsides, however. In spite of the accelerated rhythm of development, and the prospect of increased competition, the Spanish Grand Prix is often an uninteresting event. The amount of testing that takes place there isn't, apparently, to blame. It's the old thing about it being a difficult circuit on which to overtake.

The other thing about surviving the Spanish Grand Prix is Spain itself - well, not the country, just their habit of doing things slightly differently to the rest of us. Looking for a meal before 9 pm, for instance, isn't easy and yet if you're a nightbird, then you can keep partying until dawn.

Barcelona, however, is a much-favoured city and everyone enjoys going there. It's just that it keeps different hours to other cities. It must also be the only one to boast a Museu de l'Erotica which is, I think, what you imagine it to be!

The Circuit

The track has almost everything which is why so many teams test there. (It is Williams's chosen test track, not the slightly more convenient Silverstone.) However, things have moved on since it first appeared and its layout is no longer conducive to competitive motor racing.

Once upon a time, for instance, you wanted a fast corner leading onto a straight in order to give an overtaking opportunity under braking at the end of it. And that's just what the Circuit de Catalunya has. Unfortunately, however, that era of wanting the fast corner followed by the straight has moved on. That's because it is now very difficult to follow another car closely at high speed around corners, because you lose downforce. (Incidentally, now the ideal overtaking opportunity comes from a slow corner leading onto a straight, followed by another slow corner at the end of it - somewhere like Canada, for instance).

There are a couple of other points about the Circuit de Catalunya. It is quite an abrasive circuit, which means that there will probably be at least two stops per driver and maybe more in the race, so tactics are going to play their part. There are several corners which are quite quick as well, such as the pair leading onto the straight, as mentioned, and the long right hander after the first chicane. All these require good aerodynamics - as does the straight - but they also load up the front left hand tyre, so teams have to look after that as well.

History

Historically, this will be the 32nd Spanish Grand Prix and the twelfth at the Circuit de Catalunya. Spain's Grands Prix were first held in the city of Barcelona on a street circuit known as Pedrables in the early fifties. After a gap of some 14 years, the race moved to Madrid and the purpose-built Jarama circuit north of the city in 1968, alternating initially with the much-mourned Montjuich Park circuit overlooking Barcelona for four events - including the first ever half points race in 1975 - before the race settled at Jarama. The last Grand Prix there was in 1981 and five years later, the race resurfaced at Jerez in the south-west of the country. After five races there, the new track at Barcelona was constructed and the race moved there in 1991. Jerez and the twisty Valencia circuit are still used for testing, providing a trio of circuits used regularly in January and February.