With so many teams showing off upgraded cars this weekend, we really thought that we’d be in for a very competitive race. What we got though, was Mercedes laying down the law yet again.

The two major story lines in Spain were about Ferrari and McLaren and how both teams were expecting to have much better results. Ferrari were supposed to take the fight to Mercedes and challenge for P1, while McLaren were hoping to score their first points.

None of that happened and we urge you not to be fooled by Vettel’s P3 finish since his upgraded SF15-T was no fewer than 45 seconds behind Rosberg’s lightning quick Merc.

Speaking of Rosberg, he ran unchallenged pretty much from the end of FP3 (Free Practice 3) until the end of the Race on Sunday. He got off to a great start and never looked back – unlike his teammate who still managed to secure 2nd place after losing his position to Vettel early on.

Vettel’s teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, finished 5th while running a non-upgraded version of the SF15-T – which might have been why he wasn’t able to get past Valtteri Bottas’ Williams.

So yes, that put Bottas P4 and Felipe Massa P6, ahead of Red Bull‘s Daniel Ricciardo and Lotus‘ Romain Grosjean. The final two drivers to score points in Barcelona were Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) and Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull).

In two weeks time, the F1 calendar switches to Monaco where some very interesting things might happen, such as teams with slow cars but talented drivers ending up with a couple of points. And yes..McLaren comes to mind.

10 Random Things We’ve Noticed

– Ouch! Things went wrong for Lewis Hamilton right off the line (clutch issues) and during his pit stop – the rear left tire took a while to attach. I always wonder what the mechanics that are responsible for whatever it is that’s going wrong, are thinking during those moments.

– Speaking of Lewis, he’s got this thing where almost every race he “barks” at his race engineer telling him not to bother him during the corners. Yesterday he was at it again saying “Try not to speak to me during the corners”. We get it Lewis but come on, what if it is, you know, important?

– Red Bull showed up with a shorter nose. We like it. The car looks better and the team say they’re pleased with the aero gain. Kind of looks like the 2014 Mercedes nose.

– Does it say “Mad Max” on the side pods of those Lotuses? Yes it does.

– Since we’re so “into” how Formula 1 cars look, we have to say that the new McLaren-Honda livery is really nice. The car is easily identifiable as a McLaren, and looks a bit more dynamic than before.

– Ah yes, McLaren – sorry guys, but things didn’t exactly go your way this weekend. Jenson Button managed to finish the race P16, while Fernando Alonso who was holding 12th for a while there, got betrayed by his brakes as he was coming in for a pit stop. Good thing the mechanic got out of the way or we could have had ourselves a very unfortunate incident. Fernando retired from the race right after that.

– Toro Rosso are back to their annoyingly competitive ways – annoying for the other teams. And we’re very impressed with both of their rookie drivers, Sainz and Verstappen.

– It was funny watching Pastor Maldonado and his half a rear wing (the side wall of the wing had to be ripped off by a mechanic because it had been previously damaged) still being faster than a McLaren Honda.

– Got to love the Sky Sports F1 commentary team of Martin Brundle, David Croft and Ted Kravitz. They’re very insightful and articulate. It’s like listening to great Premier League commentary.

– The only encouraging moment of the race (if you’re a Ferrari fan or just want to see Mercedes being challenged) was early on when Lewis told his pit crew that he couldn’t get close to Vettel’s Ferrari.

Barcelona Race Results

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4. Valtteri Bottas, Williams
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
6. Felipe Massa, Williams
7. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
8. Romain Grosjean, Lotus
9. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
10. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull
11. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso
12. Felipe Nasr, Sauber
13. Sergio Perez, Force India
14. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
15. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
16. Jenson Button, McLaren
17. Will Stevens, Marussia
18. Roberto Merhi, Marussia