While this morning's GP2 race was in many ways a thriller, it is unlikely that today's Spanish GP is going to have us on the edge of our seats… after all, it never has, the Barcelona track enjoying a reputation for traditionally providing one of the most soporific events on the calendar.

However, that doesn't mean that today's race won't spring a few surprises, after all, who, just twenty-fours hours ago, would have predicted that Fernando Alonso would be starting from the front row?

Unless Renault has made a massive step forward, which it then chose to hide in the three free practice sessions, we can expect the Spaniard to be the first to pit for fuel, and ending the race in the points. Should he finish on the podium there will be a lot of stunned faces in the Barcelona paddock this evening - and that is no reflection on his ability as a driver.

Based on current form, it looks as though Ferrari has the first two positions virtually sewn up, with Robert Kubica destined to add another podium finish to his and BMW's tally.

While some say that Nick Heidfeld is running heavier than his teammate - much like Nelson Piquet at Renault - the fact is that BMW was not happy to see the German qualify ninth. His position is more about a poor qualifying session than strategy. That said, he is sure to finish in the points.

While McLaren continues to put a brave face on things, the fact is that the Woking team continues to lose ground to Ferrari, and, to a slightly lesser extent, BMW. Both Hamilton and Kovalainen have their work cut out this afternoon, as the British team faces another difficult race.

Behind the leading three teams, Renault looks assured of at least one driver in the points, however, keep an eye on that fascinating midfield battle between Red Bull, Toyota, Williams and Honda.

Williams was disappointing yesterday, so hopefully the Grove team will raise its game today, however, the big battle will be that between Trulli, Webber, Piquet, the Hondas and the aforesaid Williams. Based on recent form, Trulli looks set to add another point or two to his tally, while there remains a question mark over the reliability of the Red Bull.

Having been quick in the previous sessions, it's unclear where it all went wrong for Force India yesterday. Therefore, it will be interesting to see if qualifying was a true guide to the Indian team's form, or whether we were simply expecting too much from the Silverstone-based outfit.

Another team that has dropped off this weekend is Toro Rosso, while David Coulthard, having been so blindingly quick in free practise, surely deserves to be starting better than seventeenth.

We rarely see much overtaking here, and while fuel strategy continues to be the key, several teams insist that there is little difference between the two tyre options here, medium and hard.

Other than the current rules, which do little to assist overtaking, not to mention those god-awful winglets, the fact that the teams were testing here as recently as last week mean that Barcelo9na holds few surprises… it's not as though there's even the chance of rain.