Just when the teams were starting to get to grips with the 2012 tyre challenge, the use of the Pirelli supersoft will throw a new unknown into the mix for Monaco — which is why practice could make perfect this weekend.

This season has been all about tyre control so far, and with different conditions suiting different teams at each event that has resulted in five different winners from five different races. A sixth this weekend would be unprecedented for Formula One.

Each grand prix so far has used a combination of either soft and hard or soft and medium tyres, but this weekend the supersoft

Does money sometimes mask top talent?Pastor Maldonado is still classified as a 'pay driver' despite his impressive victory in Spain last weekend — so has F1 got the right balance between money and talent?

A pay driver is described as one that brings more money into a team through sponsorship than he costs them - and this year a massive quarter of all drivers on the grid fit into that category. But in truth it is probably far more than that.

Senna also brings in cash - but also his nameMaldonado, now in his second season, brings an estimated £45 million to Williams thanks to significant backing from Venezuela's national oil company, PDVSA. Alongside him, his team-mate Bruno

Williams Renault hit the top step of the podium again in Sunday — and it is the important new car-engine combination that has played a major part in getting the team back into winning ways.

In 2009, the Brawn team demonstrated just how important the package of engine and car can be. Having spent years trying to win as Honda, the team suddenly hit the front after the Japanese manufacturer pulled out and a Mercedes engine was slotted into the back of the car.

It was no coincidence, according to team insiders, that this dramatic turnaround came after the engine switch. It was well known that the

Lotus' double podium finish at the last race in Bahrain demonstrated the team's potential — so with Barcelona claimed to be their 'perfect track' can the team go one better and win?

It's looking good for Lotus right now. Victory was in their sights at Bahrain, where they scored their first double podium since 2006; in last week's Mugello test, they topped the times on days two and three; and, according to the team, the next circuit on the calendar, Barcelona, is what their car was made for.

In the first four races, the E20 machine has proven to be strong on all types of circuit, stable and

Ferrari are just finding their wayLast week's Mugello test marked a significant moment in Ferrari's 2012 campaign — but to save their season it appears that the Italian team have had to go backwards to go forwards.

Ferrari's F2012 machine was hailed as one of the most radical designs on the grid at its launch, but the concept soon proved to be unpredictable and after the opening races they were quickly forced to go back to the drawing board.

Despite some impressive damage limitation — including a victory in Malaysia - Fernando Alonso has complained of a car with a very small sweet spot, one that drives well on occasions but

Vettel killing time ahead of the Mugello testThis week saw the return of proper in-season F1 testing as teams gathered in Italy for three days of running - but given the way the sport has developed should it really be making a comeback?

At its height, F1 testing saw teams complete a combined total of more than a third of a million miles in a season. Ferrari, with their array of private test circuits, could jump on track whenever it suited them, while others clubbed together to test all around Europe, with a heavy pre-season programme and an equally busy in-season schedule.

The test ban introduced in 2009 has cut this drastically but

The ban on blown diffusers has resulted in several innovative design approaches to exhaust flow this year — so with four races gone what are the trends and is there a consensus on the right way to go?

In 2011, the approach to the rear end design was obvious, although not exactly simple. Red Bull led the way in steering their exhaust exits through the floor and into the flow in the rear diffuser, with the aim of increasing the downforce in this area. The exhausts provided an injection of high-energy air and clever engine mapping ensured the exhaust flow was constant whatever the throttle

Hamilton suffered pit stop woe in BahrainMcLaren's pit stop troubles in Bahrain last Sunday left one of their mechanics distraught after three errors in two races — but is it human error or over-complicated technology that's causing the problems?

Last year, Mercedes clocked in the fastest stationary stop time at just less than 2.5s and alongside Red Bull they were the standout performers in the pits with less than one hundredth of a second separating average stop speeds of the two teams over the entire season. McLaren was third best, just two tenths of a second slower on average.

This year, though, things have gone drastically wrong