Focus on ... Max Verstappen
Red Bull arguably has the best driver line-up on the grid following the events of last week. In Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo it has healthy cocktail of raw talent and honed ambition, and, according to most paddock experts, two future world champions. With the current Red Bull-TAG Heuer package neither will get a crack at the title this year, but both have the ability to take advantage of race-winning opportunities should they appear. Come 2017 and the new set of regulations so eagerly awaited by Red Bull, the team should have two drivers capable of extracting the very best from its car. When viewed in that light, there is a very clear logic to last week's controversial seat swap.
The move also protects Verstappen from the distraction of F1's silly season. He has been a hot property since he first stepped out of a go-kart and in to an F3 car two years ago, and interest among top teams has continued to grow. In the summer of 2014 he held negotiations with Mercedes bosses Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda, giving his father Jos Verstappen crucial leverage to negotiate a Toro Rosso drive for his then 16-year-old boy. But both father and son always had ambitions way beyond a Toro Rosso drive and have worked intensely hard on track and off it to get Max to where he is at Red Bull.
Verstappen faces intense pressure to perform this weekend but has a distinct advantage of never knowing any different. In just three years he has made the transition from go-kart to 200bhp F3 car to 900bhp F1 car. At every point along the way failure has not been an option and he has responded with results in all three categories. The switch from Toro Rosso to Red Bull will not be straight forward, but it would be more of a surprise to see him struggle in Spain than it will be to see him flourish.
In need of a podium
Ferrari is not just in need of a podium, it's in need of a win. Four races into its campaign and the Italian team seems to be further away from the top step of the podium than it was in pre-season testing. Mercedes' one-two victory in Russia was crushing, with the lone Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen finishing 37 seconds adrift of race winner Nico Rosberg. However, Maranello will be hoping that its weaknesses in Russia -- namely its struggle to get the tyres switched on -- will be its strength in Spain. The Circuit de Catalunya has a much older, rougher track surfaces than the super-smooth Sochi and the medium and high speed corners put extreme loads through the tyre. If Ferrari is able to manage its tyre degradation better than Mercedes, it could be in with a chance of victory even without the outright pace.
In need of points
It's amazing how fickle F1 can be. Just two races ago following a hard-fought podium in China, the paddock was full of praise for Daniil Kvyat's bolshie overtaking move at Turn 1. Three weeks later and his career appears to be on the ropes after a demotion to Toro Rosso. Unless Daniel Ricciardo gets poached by a rival team for 2017, any chance of a return to Red Bull looks extremely unlikely. Tonio Liuzzi is the only driver to enjoy a decent F1 career after being spat out by the Red Bull young driver programme, but more recent talents such as Jean-Eric Vergne and Sebastien Buemi found themselves quickly shifted onto the sidelines in test roles. Kvyat has the advantage of a 17-race notice period to try and prove his worth, but he will have to up his game significantly to secure a place on the 2017 grid.
Weather
Thunderstorms on Friday should make way for sunshine and warmer conditions for qualifying and race day. Temperatures aren't likely to get much above 20C, making it relatively cold for this time of year, but still warmer than it was during testing. The relatively cool temperatures may help those who have loaded up with soft tyres in the hope of using them in the race.
Betting
If you believe in fairytales, Max Verstappen is 33/1 to win on his debut with Red Bull -- remarkably with shorter odds than his more experienced teammate and proven race winner Daniel Ricciardo at 40/1. Ferrari fans will be tempted by odds of 6/1 for Sebastian Vettel and 18/1 for Kimi Raikkonen to take his third career win at the Circuit de Catalunya. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have only won once here before and are both at 6/5 for victory this weekend.
ESPN Prediction
Nico Rosberg is chasing the record held by Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher of five consecutive wins at the start of the season, but if Lewis Hamilton's car is working on full song he'll only be too pleased to put an end to his teammate's winning streak. As a result, we are backing Hamilton for victory.
A lap with ... Haas' Romain Grosjean
"Barcelona is probably the track you know best in the world. You can name every part of the layout. There's a long straight, then the first two corners right and left. You carry quite a good speed into them, and then there's the famous turn three, which you try to take as flat out as possible. Turn four, there's usually some front-locking.
"The hairpin into turn five, going down you don't see the apex until late, so it's a tricky corner. Turns seven and eight going up the hill lead to the very high-speed turn nine, which has a new curb on exit. Then you get to the hairpin at turn 10, which is very tricky under braking.
"Turns 11-15 are almost one corner - as a complex, it's difficult to get a good flow around those corners. You need to get a good balance there. Turn 16 is the last corner and you want to try to stay as flat-out to prepare for the straight and get a good lap time."
Tyres
Available compounds: Hard, medium, soft
Key tyre info for Sochi, courtesy of Pirelli
This is a high-energy load circuit for tyres, especially in the long Turn 3: a big right-hander.
Teams have plenty of relevant 2016 data, as this is where pre-season testing took place.
The surface is quite rough; along with high-speed corners this presents a tough test for tyres.
Wear and degradation is generally high, so we can expect multiple pit stops.
The front-left tyre is worked hardest: Barcelona is a front-limited circuit.
This is a high-downforce track, increasing the vertical load going through the tyres still further.