New beginnings as F1 heads to Barcelona

Jenson Button won his third race of the F1 season in Bahrain, and the Brawn GP driver will try to make it four of five in Barcelona. (Kamran Jebreili/Associated Press)

With Formula One teams returning to Europe, they know that Round 5 represents a new start to the season, as such teams as Ferrari and BMW arrive at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona with heavily modified cars.

Returning home for the two-week layoff before Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix has given teams a chance to make some serious improvements on the cars they began the season with.

The most anticipated debut is from Scuderia Ferrari, which has been testing a brand new car, the F60B. The car is 15 kilograms lighter and will feature a double-decker diffuser. The team hopes that it will increase speed and stability.

BMW will also bring an updated car, featuring a new nose, sidepod and rear wing.

Up and down pit lane, each car will feature significant updates, making it even more challenging to figure out who's fast and who isn't.

Who KERS?

One of the sidebar stories of this season has been the use of KERS by some teams. KERS is the kinetic energy recovery system, Formula One's nod to making racing more energy efficient.

In the simplest terms, KERS is a system where cars recover energy through braking, which can then be used to gain an 80-horsepower boost for 6.67 seconds during acceleration.

Think of it as the world's most expensive hybrid.

In 2009 and 2010, KERS is optional, but by the 2011 season it will be mandatory.

But this new technology is not without challenges.

The system adds weight to the car and has had some reliability issues. It's being developed independently by each team, which has meant a wide range of success.

It appears Ferrari has committed to using KERS. Ferrari engineers designed their new F60B to be as light as possible to exploit their system.

As teams further develop the KERS technology, it will become more of a factor during this season.

It's worth noting that the leaders in the championship, Brawn GP and Red Bull, have not used the system yet.

It will be interesting to see how KERS will affect the overall balance of power in the championship as the season goes on.

Round 4 Bahrain: Who's hot and who's not

The big winners coming out of Round 4 were Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing, Toyota and, the biggest surprise, McLaren.

Brawn GP, with another win by Jenson Button, proved it remains the squad to beat. The car showed speed and balance, and with Ross Brawn running the race strategy, the team did not put a foot wrong all day.

Red Bull Racing, led by wunderkind Sebastien Vettel, showed the potential of a car that is the class of the field. Vettel showed speed and maturity with his second podium in as many weeks. He will likely be a thorn in Jenson Button's side all season.

Toyota showed well with Jarno Trulli finishing third, but struggled to find the top step on the podium. I wonder what that team could do with a proven champion like Fernando Alonso behind the wheel.

McLaren is really the mirror image of Toyota. Lewis Hamilton drove an improved McLaren to fourth place. That's good news for the defending champion, who took an updated McLaren chassis and drove the wheels off it to gain some needed points.

Talking about needed points, honourable mention to Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen, who scored points with a sixth place, the first points of the season for Scuderia Ferrari.

BMW and Williams both had forgettable weekends in Bahrain back in April. BMW elected to run heavy fuel loads and the KERS system, a strategy that did not work. Robert Kubica had a collision early and then spun late in the race, finishing 18th, one better than teammate Nick Heidfeld.

BMW seems to have lost its way after some promising early-season races. The car has plenty of aero updates, but BMW is struggling in the development of their KERS technology.

The other major disappointment was the Williams team. Nico Rosberg has shown flashes of brilliance, but the Toyota-powered squad has under-performed.

In Bahrain, Williams qualified and finished ninth, out of the points and well back of the team's potential. It will be interesting to see whether their return to European tracks will help halt their backward slide.

What to expect in Spain

The Circuit de Catalunya is a track that rewards good downforce, so aerodynamics will play a key role. Because it's difficult to pass, outright speed in qualifying and overall race strategy will be critical to a good result.

With the "second season" set to start, here is a look at what we might see during Round 5 in Spain:

McLaren: The team left Bahrain proving that the aerodynamic updates work. Hamilton drove a strong race, just missing the podium. McLaren is less optimistic heading to Spain, saying publicly the track does not suit the car.

I have no reason to doubt that fact, so expect a couple points, but no more from McLaren. They are on the comeback trail, but we are not likely to see it in Spain.

Ferrari: This will be the most intriguing story of the weekend. A week ago the team was talking about giving up on the season, only to announce a completely new car.

There's no question a lot of pride is on the line here, and to Ferrari's credit they have come to Europe looking strong. I will go out on a limb and suggest a podium for Kimi Raikkonen.

BMW: They, too, have come to Spain with a massively updated car. With a new front wing, sidepods and rear wing the team is hoping to stop their recent move to the end of the results sheet. I am not optimistic for the team, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld have both had good performances this year, but as we head to midseason BMW look lost. Give the new car a top-10 finish.

Renault: The team showed up in Bahrain with double diffusers, helping Fernando Alonso start and finish seventh on the grid. The car is better, but not great.

I would be surprised to see Alonso finish better than eighth. Perhaps the hometown crowd will help him, but Renault will struggle against the top teams.

Toyota: It's difficult to assess this season as disappointing for Toyota. After all, the team is third in the constructor's championship.

Yet they haven't won this season. The chassis is good with plenty of power, so what's the problem? I think the decision to not add a proven champion or take a chance on a young lion to improve their driver lineup will keep them off the top podium step. This weekend will provide another Top 5 finish for this squad.

Torro Rosso: Gifted with the best chassis in the field and Ferrari power, this is another team that is under-performing. The drivers struggled all weekend at Bahrain with no better than 13th and 17th spots.

Sebastien Buemi and Sebastien Bourdais haven't managed to extract the maximum from their cars. They should easily be fighting for a Top 10, but I think they will struggle again, as the team seems to be mystified on how to make the cars handle better.

Red Bull Racing: Another great drive by Sebastian Vettel captured a solid second place in Bahrain. This is a team on the right track.

The engineers have figured out the chassis and made the most of Renault power, and the entire team has been led masterfully by Christian Horner. It will be interesting to see how much they have done to their car, which so far has been the chassis to beat.

Red Bull carries momentum into this weekend and will be up front fighting with Brawn GP and Ferrari.

Williams: Similar to BMW and Torro Rosso, the team seems to have all the tools, but it just can't use them effectively. Nico Rosberg has shown great qualifying pace but struggles with race strategy.

The squad is effectively a one-car team, with Kazuki Nakajima showing very little race pace. Someone will need to step up and lead this team if it wants to have any kind of chance.

This weekend the drivers should qualify well but cruise around mid-pack. Scoring any points will be an accomplishment.

Brawn GP: Ross Brawn and Jenson Button have become the best driver-manager combination in the series. I believe the team is overachieving.

That is not a bad thing, but as the big money teams begin to invest in getting up front, Brawn GP will need to work harder just to keep up. They are still in control, and I expect Button to win again, but he will be in a fight all day with Sebastien Vettel and perhaps Kimi Raikkonen.

It will come down to strategy, and no one is better right now than Ross Brawn.

Force India: The team added double diffusers in Bahrain and managed 15th and 16th place. Bahrain was an encouraging result for the team, beating BMW, Williams and Torro Rosso.

I expect it will continue to improve, but as the bigger-budget teams start spending more money to update their cars, Force India will move further down the scoresheets.

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