Spain always brings with it mixed feelings: it’s great to be back in Europe after a spree of fly-aways grands prix, but the circuit is hardly a classic, while seldom has it delivered scintillating races. It is a real enigma, the Circuit de Catalunya, situated as it is on an exposed hilltop around 30 kilometres north of the Mediterranean coast in the Barcelona region.

 

Therein lies both its appeal and its downfall: the city is seriously beautiful, while the Costa Brava counts as one of the most picturesque of all coasts. However, on the downside, the circuit is traditionally used for winter testing by teams on account of Spain’s comparatively temperate November-February climate, and therefore has no hiding places.

 

Factor in its windswept location, a surface affected more than most by temperature swings, and a high downforce twisty section connected by long undulating straights, and you have probably the most fickle circuit of all when it comes to overtaking.

 

Thus folk were hoping for rain in Spain, for dry races in Barcelona rank extremely high on the sleep-inducement meter and the only such event to date this year (the opener in Bahrain) was dubbed ‘Borerain’ on account of a distinct lack of overtaking. In Catalunya there was more reason than usual to pray for a wet one: the last nine races had been won by the pole position driver. Mark Webber’s success on Sunday would be the tenth consecutive pole-to-flag victory.

 

It was virtually a given from Saturday afternoon that the Australian would score his third career grand prix victory subject to three stars aligning: the weather remained dry (over the build-up forecasters increasingly predicted a swing from wet to dry), his Red Bull Racing R6 stayed in one piece (by no means foregone given the team’s reliability record – of which more non), and team-mate Sebastian Vettel, starting from the left ( and thus ‘dirty’) side of the front row did not snuck past him on the long run down to Turn 1 as he did at the off of the lights in Malaysian Grand Prix. There Vettel went on to win...

 

As is now common knowledge, the rain stayed away long enough for Webber to capitalise on his advantage – although it did pour two hours after the race finished – while Mark, in his own words had a car that ‘ran like clockwork’ although Vettel suffered various issues (including brake problems) after Mark covered the inside line immediately after the start to thwart any attempt at passing by Vettel.

 

It is, of course, refreshing that teams allow, in fact, encourage, their race drivers to race – unlike the Jean Todt/Michael Schumacher philosophy at Ferrari earlier this decade - but it can fraught for both cockpit occupants and, of course, those sat on ‘prat perches’ atop the pit wall.

 

However, after running nose-to-tail in the opening stages, victory for the Australian was sealed when Vettel pitted for the first time. A gearbox glitch dropped him down the order, then he was forced to wait until Jenson Button was in his box before being released. All this dropped the challenger behind Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren, the 2008 world champion driving with his usual robustness, thus making passing impossible on a circuit already notorious for just that.

 

Finally, Vettel’s left front brake failed, and although the 22-year-old German, reckoned by most observers to have more potential than Schumacher at the same age, kept it together, he was basically reduced to also-ran. A late stop to attend to the problem ultimately sealed his fate, with only front wheel rim failure caused by an errant stone on Hamilton’s McLaren – as suffered by Heikki Kovalainen for the same team here in 2008 - ensuring Vettel made the podium in third behind the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

 

And, precisely therein lies Red Bull’s challenge: to provide Webber and Vettel with cars able to go the distance at undiminished speed: five races into the season the team has scored a clean sweep of five pole positions, three of which locked out the front row. Yet the team has taken but two victories (only one of which was a one-two), and lies third in the constructors’ championship.

 

Tellingly, those two wins were scored in grands prix where Red Bull Racing started one-two, indicating the team needs two cars upfront to score victory. Not, frankly, good enough at a time when F1 cars run with metronomic reliability.

 

Last season Red Bull Racing failed to take either title despite patently having the fastest car overall, particularly after it was fitted with 2009’s must-have gizmo – double-decker diffuser. This year the team has the quickest machinery even without 2010’s version of that fancy aerodynamic aid, namely a ‘blown’ rear wing, something the team plans to introduce in Turkey – two races hence.

 

In the interim the competition is mopping up points on a regular basis, so much so that McLaren and Ferrari lie first and second respectively in the constructors’ championship despite having cars almost a second per lap slower than the Red Bull entries. Never was the old adage ‘to finish first you first have to finish’ truer. Only when the team accepts that, will it be able to mount the sort of strong, consistent title challenge which does full justice to the team, drivers and, above all, its budget.

 

Meantime, enjoy this unpredictability while it lasts, particularly if repeated at Monaco this coming weekend...