It has to be admitted that the Circuit de Catalunya does not have a reputation for producing the most exciting F1 races, far from it. Indeed, over the years, along with the Hungaroring, the Spanish track has produced some of the dullest events in living memory.

While some of this was due to the rules, the other major factor was the fact that the teams were continually testing here, in some cases just a few days before the race.

However, this year, courtesy of the new rule which bans in-season testing, together with what many regard as a 'new order' in F1, led by Brawn, Red Bull and Toyota, today's Spanish GP should hopefully be different from some of the yawn fests witnessed in recent years.

Going by appearances, and recent history, it will be a two horse race, with Brawn and Red Bull leading the way, however, the Prancing Horse has clearly made progress, with Felipe Massa the heaviest of the first six on the grid.

Despite the almost constant modification of the circuit in the name of safety, Barcelona still has the potential for incidents, and the first sequence of corners here are notorious. Thus far this season we haven't had the fireworks expected - what with the width of the new front wings - but today could well be the day. Jenson Button made a superb start in Bahrain, indeed, it went some way to helping him win the race, however, it remains to be seen if he can do an equally good job today, especially with Massa making full use of his KERS.

While Button took the last gasp pole yesterday, Teammate Rubens Barrichello has been looking good all weekend, likewise Mark Webber at Red Bull, both drivers will be worth keeping an eye on this afternoon.

The same can surely be said at Toyota also where Timo Glock has looked better that his teammate in most of the session, while, barring a major upset, Ferrari's hopes rest on Felipe Massa's shoulders this afternoon.

While the partisan crowd will be hoping for a Renault revival, particularly in terms of Fernando Alonso, the French team has some way to go yet, as does BMW, though the German team does appear to have made a step forward this weekend.

The same cannot be said for McLaren, whose highest placed driver on today's grid is Lewis Hamilton, who starts from fourteenth. While Kimi Raikkonen's poor qualifying result is largely down to a dreadful strategic error, McLaren are as far back on the grid as they are because the team is still lagging behind.

While continually dominating the practice session, Williams still appears a long way from converting this into race results, which must be as frustrating for the team and its fans as it is for the rest of us.

As for Toro Rosso and Force India, both teams appear to be making progress, however, so are their rivals.

The tyre options this weekend are hard and soft, however, while the softs are the best for the real blistering laps - no pun intended - the drivers have spent most of the weekend keeping them back, saving them for qualifying and today's race.