Spanish Grand Prix

Most of the F1 teams are looking forward to the races in Europe this May 2009.

The Formula 1 season is nearly a quarter over but this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix will be like a new beginning.

After four races in the long-haul destinations of Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain, the sport hits Europe for the first time this year and all the leading teams will be fielding modified cars.

The developments introduced in Spain are likely to define the order for much of the rest of the season - and they could also change the balance of competitiveness between the teams.

The Brawn team, who have emerged from the ashes of Honda to lead the drivers' and constructors' championships this season, started the season with a performance advantage of nearly a second over the rest of the field, but this has been clawed back in recent weeks.

After Jenson Button's win in Bahrain - his third in four races - the Englishman admitted the team's cupboard was bare and that they needed the upgrade package they are introducing in Barcelona if they wanted to stay ahead of the pack.

Brawn's chief rivals on pace so far this season, Red Bull and Toyota, will also have upgrades to their cars in Barcelona.

Of these three, Red Bull are the only outfit without the controversial 'double-decker' diffuser that dominated paddock discussion at the first three races of the year.

The device makes a big difference to the performance of a car fitted with it - as much as 0.5 seconds per lap, according to most F1 designers - so the fact that Red Bull are so quick without it speaks volumes for the quality of their car.

But it is also likely to mean that they still have another big step forward in pace to come compared to their rivals - which, if they remain competitive in Spain, could be an alarming thought for Button, among others.

For the three teams that dominated F1 last year, though, this race could define their season.

McLaren, Ferrari and BMW Sauber have all struggled to one degree or another this year - and all have upgrades for their cars in Barcelona.

McLaren and Ferrari will both have their first version of a double-decker diffuser - so it will be fascinating to see where that puts them over the weekend.

BMW, meanwhile, have admitted that while they do have an aerodynamic upgrade for this track which makes such a heavy call on a car's efficiency through the air, they will not have one of the trick floors.

They have also taken the decision to abandon the Kers power-boost and energy-storage system for the next two races. Which, given that Kers only escaped being canned this year because of BMW's support for the device, has raised a few eyebrows.

BMW drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished at the back in a dispiriting outing in Bahrain.

Only a fool would write BMW off but, right now, the Mole finds it hard to see much of a chance of them returning to their winning form of 2008.