I don't care what they say, I quite like the race in Valencia. The setting is certainly atmospheric, with long, sweeping straights alongside the water, a very distinctive bridge and even the industrial section giving the GP a character all its own. Rows of millionaire yachts in the marina are all very well but a backdrop of towering cranes and scaffolding is as telling evidence of the energy of the city. It all looks clean and neat, no matter how dusty the track.
Lewis Hamilton back at the office
Admittedly, we are unlikely to get a classic race tomorrow with the McLarens looking so fast and comfortably on the front row. Barrichello gave them a bit of a fight but they swatted him down in Q3. Given their supposed advantage with the best KERS system, one must expect them to stay at the front for the duration of the race.
But Valencia is not the only circuit said to be without overtaking places and some of those have given us good races in the past. I will certainly not write off the place on the strength of one race.
McLaren's sudden revival also makes early season complaints of a boring season dominated by Button and Brawn seem somewhat ridiculous now. In F1 anything can happen and it was always likely that the other teams would close on the Brawn. With Red Bull performing very well on the faster tracks and McLaren leading the way on the slower, it looks as if Button is going to have to fight hard for his championship and perhaps even lose it at the last.
Jenson must be somewhat relieved that the BGP 001 has a slight edge over the Red Bull in Valencia, therefore. Vettel may have qualified a few hundredths quicker than the Englishman but it was a late effort and required all his skill to keep the RB5 under control. In contrast, the Brawns, especially Barrichello's, looked very sure-footed with not a twitch or a slide to be seen. Meanwhile Webber could do no better than ninth, four spots behind.
Kimi Raikkonen did an excellent job to get the Ferrari into sixth spot on the grid, although this was hardly noticed as all eyes watched the struggles of Badoer in the second car. Poor Luca has had a terribly discouraging return to the sport and may well be glad if the team give someone else a try in Spa. He has a reputation as a great test driver - it would be a pity to spoil it now with a few awful races.
The Williams continues to be one of the best cars of the year and Rosberg duly put it into seventh. Nakajima's chance to outshine his team leader, having been second fastest behind Sutil (who?) in the morning practice, disappeared as the car coasted to a halt in Q1. Surely the lad's luck must change sooner or later; he has brought the speed through from practice into qualifying of late and deserves a few good races in the second half of the season.
Renault had flattered to deceive in practice as usual and Alonso could manage no better than eighth, while his new team mate, Grosjean, did well to grab 14th. BMW's improvements to the F1.09 have worked in at least hauling the team off the back of the grid. For a while in practice it looked as though they might be back near the sharp end but even to qualify tenth and eleventh is encouraging, considering how far they had fallen.
They have not escaped the Force Indias, however. Adrian Sutil may have been a little disappointed with his twelfth spot, given his incredible performance in practice, but the cars are worthy midfield runners now. Those updates have worked almost as well as McLaren's.
Toyota were inexplicably slow after having promised much. Trulli failed to go beyond Q1 and it was only a last gasp effort that allowed Glock to make the cut. I guess it will be mobile chicane time again tomorrow.
Buemi did a good job for Toro Rosso but the car has not lived up to the promise of its sister design. And Alguersuari was unable to keep up with his team mate this time, finishing in 19th spot.
The race is almost bound to be a McLaren tour de force, all the advantages being theirs. But Kovalainen has such awful luck that it is quite possible that he drop by the wayside. Otherwise, it looks like another of those apparently effortless victories for Hamilton, especially as there should be some furious squabbling behind him. The Brawns and Red Bulls are going to be duking it out, their eyes on points for the championship, and Kimi, Rosberg and Alonso will be right there to make the most of any mistakes.
Boring, you say? Heck, any GP has to be a relief after the emptiness of the last three weeks, surely. And then only a week until the best circuit of all, Spa-Francorchamps in the Belgian Ardennes...