However there is still plenty to look out for. This race could be make or break for six-times Spanish Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher, who between 2001 and 2004 marked up four successive back-to-back victories in Barcelona, is having to dig deep in his reserves both as a driver and in self-belief. Schumacher's less than impressive comeback has clearly acted as a blow to his reputation.

"At the first races, when Schumacher walked into the driver's meetings there was a defi nite *wow' factor" said HRT driver Karun Chandhok. "He was above eye-contact, on another level. Now he's just one of the guys."

Not surprisingly the Mercedes team is rushing through a series of updates, both aerodynamic and mechanical to attempt to make the W01 car more appropriate to Schumacher's driving style.

If Schumacher can't make it work, particularly if Nico Rosberg continues to deliver results, one wonders how long it may be before Michael decides the comeback was all a terrible mistake.

Interestingly, the one driver who, Karun Chandhok confides, does have that special presence among his peers is Fernando Alonso. It is not arrogance, more a combination of self-confidence and poise. A winner's edge.

Even despite the qualifying pace of the Red Bulls and the racing resourcefulness of Jenson Button and McLaren, it is hard to bet against Alonso for victory in his home Grand Prix. Even though Alonso last won the race in 2006, he has always managed to generate something for his home fans to cheer.

Last year he fought his way from eighth on the grid in the unfancied Renault, to snatch fifth place from his current Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa.

The previous year, even though an engine failure sidelined his Renault, his low-fuel qualifying run to take second on the grid was truly spectacular.

Fernando's big concern must be reliability. In contrast to McLaren's apparently rock-solid finishing record and Red Bull's seemingly random problems, there has been a worrying trend in a string of Ferrari engine failures.

The Scuderia claims that a solution has been found to leaks which led to the engine losing the pneumatic pressure which closes the engine's valves at the extreme revs used in a Formula One V8. However the fact remains that Alonso has already used three of the eight engines to which he is entitled this season.

That could hamper his title charge later in the season. However I do not believe that he'll be unduly hindered in Barcelona.

On the contrary Alonso knows that a victory in Spain will be more than just a "home win", it would position him as Ferrari's best contender in what remains a wide-open championship.

As the first race of the European home season for most teams, Barcelona is also the race where we will see significant developments unveiled on most cars. The effectiveness of these developments is equally important whether one is at the front, middle or the tail-end of the starting grid.

Just behind the Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes battle, Force India are pinning high hopes on gaining on Renault, while maintaining their early superiority over Williams and Toro Rosso. Behind them, struggling Sauber need to raise their game to avoid being outpaced by Lotus Racing and Virgin.

Meanwhile the Hispania Racing Team will now have the chance to feed in technical improvements to their completely unsorted car, which forced Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna to make their respective debuts in probably the hardestto- drive car on the grid. For the HRT drivers, any improvement will be a worthwhile improvement!

Catch F1 race commentator Steve Slater on STAR Sports' coverage of the Formula One

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