The race in Valencia went some way to redeeming its reputation as worst circuit of the year, I thought. Although this was one of those races decided by pit stop strategy rather than on the track, the battle between the McLarens and Barrichello was so finely balanced that it provided plenty of interest and scope for guessing at possibilities.
Champagne for Rubens at last
After a start in which only Raikkonen made major gains to slot into fourth, things seemed to being going according to plan for McLaren. But it soon became apparent that Rubens was at least as quick as Kovalainen ahead of him and, having a considerably heavier fuel load, he was bound to leapfrog the Finn during the pit stops. What remained to be seen was whether he could also get by Hamilton, who was pulling away gradually at the front but not sufficiently for his own comfort.
Lewis did emerge in front after the stops but Barrichello was past Heikki and very close to the leading McLaren. Now all depended on the last stops and things began to look very good for Rubens, fueled to go further in the second stint too. As Hamilton's stop approached, the team called for "qualifying laps from Rubens and he duly obliged; even so, it would have been a very close thing had not Lewis suffered a botched wheel change. Only a few seconds were lost but, especially when coupled with the local yellow at the time of Rubens' final re-fueling, it was enough and Barrichello came out to a comfortable lead.
Hamilton closed on him in the final laps but Rubens was managing his lead like the old hand he is - he never looked threatened. And one has to say that his victory was well-deserved after a drive of real excellence. All weekend he was quicker than Button and it was a joy to watch his confident and clean laps throughout.
So why did Button find it impossible to match Barrichello in Valencia? I would guess that the changes made to the Brawn have brought it closer to the kind of car Rubens likes and it is taking a while for Jenson to get the hang of it. As the race went on, Button became quicker and his fastest lap was actually better than Rubens'. But that was overshadowed by the enigma of Glock setting fastest lap of all.
Through practice and qualfying the Toyotas appeared to go backwards, slipping down the order as time went on. And in the race they were anonymous until Timo went on a sudden rampage towards the end. It made no sense, one of the slowest cars in the field suddenly finding speed and being quickest of all. Whatever the cause, it sets the team a serious problem as they search for an answer to their slow pre-race form. The speed is in the car, that is obvious; but how to extract it in all situations?
Kovalainen dropped from second to fourth through the pit stops and one must assign his final position to a McLaren fuel strategy that was slightly off optimum. It did not help that Raikkonen was definitely present for this race, his performance in a car that was not the best being the equal of Barrichello's. It is as though the absence of Massa has suddenly freed Kimi to put in the kind of race we saw in his McLaren days - he has been all speed and accuracy in the last two races.
Rosberg, too, put in an good drive, not quite able to come to grips with the Ferrari in front but holding a respectable gap to Alonso. Button was part of this chasing pack, as were Kubica and Webber. Their team mates had all the bad luck going, however. Nakajima was moving up through the field when a puncture ruined his race, Vettel suffered another Renault engine failure and Heidfeld, who had managed to get ahead of Kubica at the start, found his pit stop times dropped him down into traffic.
So the BMWs are back in midfield but still need to improve if they are going to put on a decent show as a farewell to F1 and Red Bull have more proof that their car is better suited to fast circuits than slow. But Renault continue to be a one-car team, only Alonso able to trouble the leading five or six cars and his team mate getting into trouble amongst traffic. There is a sign of hope for Alguersuari, however - his fastest lap was quicker than Alonso's.
Real progress has been made by Force India and they must be counted as midfield runners rather than back markers now. Both drivers had sound races and should not be ashamed of their final tenth and twelfth places. Points must follow, surely.
Toro Rosso performed tail end duties, assuming the role vacated so recently by Force India, and Badoer demonstrated how hard it is to return to the sport after years of nothing but testing. Ferrari is giving him one more race to improve but I wonder whether that might just be rubbing salt into the wound. A better option might have been to give a recent driver a chance, Bourdais perhaps. With something to prove, the motivation in such a driver might be a little fiercer.
I can understand Ferrari wanting to reward their long-serving test driver but one race would have been enough. This is one team that cannot afford to have its second car bumbling around at the back of the field.
Overall, the race was not bad, a needle match of closely-matched cars and drivers. Casual viewers may have found it boring but there was sufficient to interest most fans, I think. And we can look forward to a great race in only a week's time when the circus goes to Spa. Red Bull will be back, no doubt, but now there will be opposition from McLaren and Ferrari, as well as Brawn GP.