As Bahrain demonstrated, Formula One might like to think it is beyond the touch of politics but politics likes to think otherwise. No where has this been more apparent in recent times than in Venezuela. Backed by President Hugo Chavez’s socialist government, through the state-owned oil company PDVSA, Williams and Pastor Maldonado were just another pawn in Venezuelan politics…

When Lewis Hamilton coasted to a stop after setting a pole clinching time I always felt he was unlikely to keep it. Still, I like many were left confused as to why he was sent to the back of the grid. In the event, he was unlikely to have gained an advantage but even if he did, it seemed harsh to discard his lap in the second part of qualifying or even his first Q3 run. However, pondering Article 6.6.2 which he was deemed to have broken something about it …

Another fascinating race has unfolded and we’ve now had five different winners stand on the top step of the podium. The three stop strategy was optimal at Catalunya with only Hamilton choosing a two stop model in order to recover from starting at the back of the grid – he eventually made up 16 places…

Race five. Winner number five. Team number five. He has had more than his fair share of critics since joining Williams but Pastor Maldonado had the last laugh with a sensational win in Spain. Beaten off the grid by local favourite, Fernando Alonso, Williams made a perfect strategy call in order to undercut the Ferrari…

Williams’ Pastor Maldonado pulled out a surprise front-row qualifying run in Spain with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso an almost equally surprising third. However, the Circuit de Catalunya had one more twist up its sleeve when the quickest man in qualifying, Lewis Hamilton pulled up shortly after the beating his rivals by almost six tenths of a second…

A city with its finger firmly on the pulse, Barcelona has always embraced style, bold design and all things new. And given that Spain’s passion for F1 has reached fever pitch, the grand prix brings out a carnival atmosphere. The circuit has been on the calendar since 1991 producing twelve different winners – Lewis Hamilton being the noticeable absentee from that last.

Round Five of the 2012 Formula One season sees the teams heading to their first race of the year on European soil. The Circuit de Catalunya is a venue the teams know very well from winter testing. After eight days there earlier in the year, the teams will have a head start in preparing for this weekend’s race although they will still have to consider the higher track temperatures. There’s also the added intrigue of last week’s in-season test in Italy…

Yesterday, Caterham’s Vitaly Petrov suggested that the the Mugello Circuit wasn’t really suitable for Formula One testing. Today, he’s reiterated that point in an interview with Autosport: “I don’t think we should have come here,” said the Russian. “It is not safe and wide enough. If you lose it, the walls are so close and you will smash into the tyres. It is not for Formula 1 and, if you lost the steering or the tyre pressure dropped or whatever, then it will be a big crash.”