We won't tire of Spain while tyres make it exciting

I almost feel sorry for Martin Brundle and David Coulthard in the commentary box who have to make sense of the bi-weekly madness.

We had 126 overtakes in the last race (in Turkey) alone and it's worth remembering that we've yet to see a drop of rain at a race this year. If you're wondering how mad it might be when it's wet, just type 'Malaysia', 'F1' and 'rain' into YouTube and see for yourself.

There's simply no denying that there is more action. In Turkey we had the most pitstops since the European Grand Prix at Donington in 1993, so there is certainly plenty to keep people entertained but this weekend F1 will face its biggest test.

On Sunday afternoon, the 12 teams will take to the Tarmac at Spain's Circuit de Catalunya and it will be as familiar as driving to the local supermarket. This place is a home from home for the F1 teams who arrive here every winter, unveil their new-season's charger and go round, and round . . . and round, until they've gathered every piece of available data.

It's an important testing ground ahead of each F1 season but it adversely impacts the quality of the racing once points are at stake.

The teams arrive, know exactly how to set up their car to be fast, which means the quickest driver is at the front, the slowest is at the back and the order for the weekend is set.

So, why will this weekend be any different? Well the answer may sound dull but it isn't. Tyre management.

In the last race, Mark Webber had just slightly fresher tyres than Fernando Alonso and he hunted down the double world champion and took second place on the podium. At the previous grand prix, Sebastian Vettel was simply a sitting duck when Lewis Hamilton appeared over the horizon with tyres that had done six laps, or 20 miles less, than his rival.

So, how to outthink the rest? Well so much depends on decisions you make as early as tomorrow.

Teams are limited to the number of sets of tyres they can use, so some barely take to the track in qualifying to save fresh rubber for Sunday.

Another tactic is to make more stops than your rivals which means despite spending longer in the pitlane, when you are on track, you're much quicker.

Alternatively, of course, you could take the Vettel approach and just make sure that despite the overtaking, the chaos and the confusion, you are serenely gliding to victory at the front of the pack.

The German has been at the front for 184 racing laps this season, 81 per cent of the time, and it seems with the new-look F1 that that's the perfect place to be - the trick is getting there in the first place.