1) The 2007 Season Could Be Better Than Anyone Dared Hope
With Kimi Raikkonen failing to impress at Ferrari and McLaren's Fernando Alonso visibly uncomfortable with his team-mate's pace and the consequential onset of Hamilton-mania, 2007's plot is proving to be a riveting tale of the unexpected.

Being a number two is the new number one...


2) Lewis Hamilton Has The Mentality Of A Champion
Two exchanges stood out from Lewis' post-race press conference. The first was when he was asked if there was any stage during the race when he believed he could win.

"Yes," he replied with trademark deadpan. "From the first corner to the chequered flag - I never stopped pushing."

The second was his response to the enquiry of 'When did you realise you were leading the championship?':

"I knew it straightaway after my third pit-stop that if I was second and I had Fernando behind me that I would be leading."

The first answer displayed the attitude of a champion-in-waiting. No matter that Massa owned a faster car or that, at one point during the race, he was able to transfer his advantage into a lead of almost 20 seconds; Hamilton's pursuit remained relentless. The acceptance of defeat does not exist in his mentality.

The second answer revealed that his unwavering serenity and presence of mind remains unaffected even at 190mph. No matter that he was still pushing for victory; Hamilton was still sufficiently poised to calculate the World Championship standings during the heat of battle.

In comparison, the same press conference exposed another ugly aspect to Alonso's make-up. The world champion appeared petulant and graceless as he bemoaned Massa's refusal to yield. The Ferrari driver had every right to hold his line and Alonso's inability to accept that their tangle fell into the category of a 'racing incident' spoke volumes about the scrambled state of his mind.


3) Practice Doesn't Make Perfect
In F1 speak, Alonso 'stuck his elbows out' last week to ensure that he alone of the two McLaren race drivers tested at Barcelona, a bully-boy tactic which ought to have fashioned a crucial advantage. Instead, Hamilton out-paced him in all-but-one session (in which Alonso low-fuelled).

And if F1's former leading man isn't enjoying being put in the shade by his precocious team-mate, nor is his leading lady. According to reports in the paddock, Alonso's missus had a hissy fit when the McLaren engineers cheered on Lewis' qualifying run and stormed out of the team's garage.


4) Alonso Is Struggling
Alonso's first-corner excursion can be read as a mistakenly bold manoeuvre after a mistakenly bold bid for pole position in front of his home support.

Of the two McLarens, it was Hamilton, once again belying his rookie status, who prioritised race strategy. Alonso's risk was unnecessary and costly - once he failed to oust Massa off the line, and then fell behind his young team-mate, his race was wrecked.

Mistakes by the world champion are suddenly becoming habitual. Sir Jackie Stewart watched the Spaniard's ragged driving in Saturday morning practice with incredulity: "He missed the apex of one turn completely. He made three big mistakes. He was over-driving. After the first mistake he should have backed off. Instead he compounded it by carrying on. Usually he is so smooth. I don't think there is any question that Alonso is feeling it. Hamilton's brilliant start has definitely given him something to think about."


5) Hamilton Has Revealed His Team-Mate's (Possibly Fatal) Flaw
It is a fundamental law of F1 that no driver is content being eclipsed by his stable-mate. What's unique about Alonso's discontent is its depth. He positively detests being beaten by his team-mate.

Unfortunately, instead of harnessing that discontent positively, it is proving to be his Achilles Heel - rather than reacting with confident nonchalance, a response that may have even ruffled the seemingly implacable Hamilton, the Spaniard has driven over the edge, making a series of aggressive errors as a consequence.

"Renault have said that the only time they saw him get upset was when his team-mate had the edge on him," noted Martin Brundle in his column for The Sunday Times. "There is an aspect of immaturity in this respect, a chink in his armour."

The Spaniard must channel his frustration in two weeks' time else the omnipresent Monaco barriers will put an even more severe dent in his title aspirations.


6) Felipe Massa Is A Formidable Frontrunner
Each of the Brazilian's four grand prix victories have occurred in races which he started on pole position (Turkey and Brazil in 2006, Bahrain and Spain in 2007).


7) Kimi Raikkonen Is Struggling
Struggling to exert his authority at Ferrari, and struggling to keep pace with Massa.

Even before Kimi succumbed to an engine failure that ought to have brought painful memories of his career at McLaren, it was apparent that the Finn was struggling to keep pace with Lewis Hamilton, who in turn was being out-paced by Massa. Retirement cost Kimi points but probably also saved him from acute embarrassment.

Other than at Australia, when the Brazilian produced the superior pace until he was beset by a gearbox failure in qualifying, Ferrari's lead driver this season has indisputably been Massa. At present, Raikkonen is being made to look ordinary.


8) There's Still Hope For Heikki Kovalainen And Renault
The Finn has been the disappointment of the season so far, but produced a composed and consistent performance at Barcelona to earn that rarest of things: praise from Flavio Briatore.

Kovalainen was aided by an improved Renault, the fourth-fastest car on the road after Massa, Hamilton and Alonso. A malfunctioning fuel rig meant that the rookie had to settle for seventh place, rather than a probable fifth, but it was apparent that the team have made significant progress. Which is particularly bad news for Toyota after their president John Howett set out in midweek this season's target as "catching and passing BMW". Renault will surely get there first.


9) F1 Does Not Benefit From An Extended Lay-Off
Even the racing was relatively lacklustre on a day that F1's reputation for professionalism was plunged into disrepute.

Besides Alonso's manic aggression, Raikkonen's retirement and the tangle of the two Hondas, BMW made a remarkable botch of Nick Heidfeld's pit-stop, Massa's Ferrari briefly caught light during a pit-stop, and Renault suffered the aforementioned costly softwear glitch with its refuelling rig.

Frankly, it was, on the whole, amateurish.


10) Bernie Ecclestone Must Be The Leader Of A Sadistic Cult
Another nine years of Barcelona hosting the Spanish GP borders on evil.