F1: Plus ça change ... or whatever the Spanish say

Guess who was fastest in this morning's opening practice session for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Here's a hint: he's been fastest or second fastest in more practice sessions this year than anyone else.

Yes, Jenson Button. Trailed by Toyotas and BMWs, Brawn GP's number one simply trashed both McLaren and Ferrari. His team-mate was 10 places behind him.

McLaren have no excuse: they are not trying out new bits on the car. Everyone else, including BrawnGP is.

But it is important to remember that this was the first practice session - and traditionally Ferrari don't try to be fastest on Friday. They use it for testing, shakedown and data collection. It's a tactic that has served them well over the years. One might, then, think that Ross Brawn, Ferrari's master tactician in the days when they were good, has had a change of heart and is pushing Jenson to go faster.

The answer to that is probably not: the fact is that the Brawn GP car handles exactly to Button's liking. And Barcelona is a track that suits his style. In truth, Button doesn't really seem to be pushing the envelope - and yet he's still almost half a second faster than Trulli who was second quickest this morning.

For this afternoon, we might expect a reversal of fortunes - with Barrichello up at the pointy end and Button a few places slower as they evaluate tyres and - equally importantly - how the cars respond to changes in temperature and humidity in the afternoon - which is, after all, when the race will be run.