The Driver's Eye: Barcelona

Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson explains why the familiar surrounds of Barcelona may be just what the 2012 season needs...

Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya is track that everyone in F1 knows. And knows very well. This weekend's race marks the start of the European leg of the season and is traditionally the race where teams introduce a raft of upgrades. Yet that trend seems to be changing slightly this year. I've been surprised that in every race we've had so far this season we've seen teams either collecting data for parts that are in the process of being made, or arriving at circuits with new bits on the cars and running streams of low-vis paint analysing those new parts - and that's despite those first four races all being flyaways. I'm sure that the European leg will always bring more upgrades than the first few flyaways, particularly from the bigger teams as they start showing off the resources they have compared to the smaller teams who have less funding, but I've been genuinely surprised at the level of upgrades we've seen this season in the Friday practice sessions. Barcelona is where we normally see the highest number of upgrades during a season, however, and we should expect plenty more this weekend. Although tyre wear has been a big factor this season, aero still plays a huge part and you never want to lose time or lose out in the hunt for more downforce and less drag on your car - and sometimes more downforce and running faster lap times can bring the tyres into a new window and stop things like graining. As for the track itself, it's one which every driver will know well and going there is relatively 'easy' in that it is very much a known quantity. Yet that in itself creates a massive challenge because you know it will be very tight between you and your team-mate, which is why you quite often see teams with their drivers two-by-two all the way down the grid. Every driver this weekend will know he'll have to do something incredibly special to beat the man sitting next to him in the garage. If a driver loses out to his team-mate at Barcelona, it will really hurt. Around a circuit which has been driven a million times before, there are no excuses and no hiding places. Sadly, the circuit has been diminished by the introduction of a slow-speed chicane on what used to be a very challenging and rewarding part of the track where you could really feel the speed of a F1 car in a high-speed situation. You get used to most new things, but every driver who has driven the old circuit will always remember it more fondly than the configuration we have today. It's a real shame - and most annoyingly of all, the motorbikes still get to do the old track so every time you watch MotoGP it's a case of 'Damnit, they're doing the track we want to do!'. The introduction of the DRS does at least offer the possibility of overtaking this weekend because before it came into play all a driver could realistically hope for around Barcelona was that the car in front would make a mistake. Luckily, we can also expect the Pirellis to throw in their fair share of surprises in terms of degradation and tyre management and if a driver starts struggling with strategy or tyre management then there will definitely be the potential for overtakes. We'll see. Barcelona, for all its over-familiarity, could actually be the track we've been waiting for. If this is the track where tyre wear, severe marbling and degradation is less of a problem for all the teams than it has been so far then this should be the weekend when we get to see which team has the fastest package and the best car in terms of sheer performance. This is a circuit which needs a good car and a circuit which rewards a car that is well balanced at high speed and aerodynamically efficient. After Sunday, we'll finally know where all the teams are. So far, we've had lots of 'ifs and buts'. Hopefully, Barcelona, as a track we all know well, will tick a few of the boxes that have so far been left unticked. AD Anthony Davidson's turn-by-turn guide to a lap of Barcelona