European leg begins with Spanish Grand Prix

NEW DELHI: ESPN STAR Sports, Asia's leading sports broadcaster, will bring LIVE all the excitement of the F1 racing which has started off with Ferrari and McLaren posing strong competition to each other, from Spain. The channel will telecast LIVE and EXCLUSIVE the opening Grand Prix from Barcelona with its signature pre race show, Race Day and post race show as part of its comprehensive F1 programming for the Indian viewers.

After over two months in Australia and Asia the second leg of the season begins with the first race in Europe - the Spanish Grand Prix. The previous race in the Desert Kingdom of Bahrain showcased the Ferrari strength of speeding away from other teams in straight lines. Felipe Massa, who dominated both the qualifying and race day in Bahrain, will have to face the challenge once again from Fernando Alonso, who will be on his home circuit.

The 66 laps of Circuit de Catalunya are going to be grueling for the drivers as the circuit has some demanding corners and short straights combined with long high speed straights. The 4.6 km long circuit was dominated by Fernando Alonso last year and this being his home race he is the driver to watch out for along with team mate Lewis Hamilton who has impressed one and all with his maturity and the three podium finishes. However Felipe Massa and Ferrari are bound to provide stiff competition to Alonso and McLaren as Ferrari has pre-dominantly performed well in Europe.

The title race is a four way battle with Raikkonen, Alonso and Hamilton all tied up at 22 points. Massa who has had two pole starts and one podium finish is at number four in the standings with 17 points. Ferrari driver Raikkonen, who won the Spanish GP in 2005 is the only driver in history to have won here but not gone on to become Champion. He would be looking forward to changing this dubious record this time around in 2007.