THE BIG PICTURE: Halfway through (well, as close as you can get to halfway with an odd number of races unless of course South Korea is canceled, then we are halfway through), and it does appear neither Red Bull nor McLaren will ever be able to get the upper hand consistently as they will probably leapfrog each other with technical advancements. So, now the question is, who will get the upper hand the most while Ferrari plays spoiler?

EVENT: It's good for the rich and famous and their yachts.

QUALIFYING: Mercedes goes backwards, hometown hero Alonso fails, and Red Bull is back on top.

RACE: Ruined by the Safety Car cockup. Why doesn't Formula 1 hire an American racing official to consult with safety car deployment and rules? Because the Euro-snobs don't dare to admit they need the help of an American when it comes to racing matters.

TRACK: Pretty darn fast for a street circuit, but not very passable.

START: Webber's start has got to be one of the worst ever from a front row position.

VETTEL: Sebastian has now won as many races as the top four in the standings, but he sits behind the McLaren duo thanks to throwing away points when he couldn't win.

HAMILTON: Well, his actions were finally penalized. But then his penalty meant nothing. Ay, caramba!

ALONSO: Meanwhile, Alonso got screwed for doing the right thing. Big time.

FERRARI: As if the prancing horse needed yet another reason to dislike McLaren...

BUTTON: Great recovery from a poor starting spot.

BARICHELLO: Rubens finished fourth?! Where did that come from?

KUBICA: Back in the silly season talk.

KOBAYASHI: What an interesting unplanned late, late pit stop strategy. But, it allowed Kamui to put the smackdown on Alonso, and then have Buemi for dessert.

BUEMI: A strong, strong run for the ever improving Sebastien.

ROSBERG: Outran his teammate. Hee, hee, hee. Again. Hee, hee, hee.

SCHUMACHER: Awaiting the excuse this week...

SENNA: Yes, Bruno is on a terrible team. But, he has been schooled by his teammate time and time again.

HULKENBERG: A little upset there, eh Nico?

KOVALAINEN: Sure, it was for position, but come on Heikki, you sit in a car about 18,000 mph slower than Webber's Red Bull machine.

WEBBER: Talk about "seeing sky." The real fault lies with Mark on the first lap. Had he not gotten such a horrible start, he would not have needed to be brought in for an early pit stop, finding himself behind dirt slow cars, causing him to run up the back of one of those dirt slow cars.

GP2: First lap mayhem. And an aerial flight that topped Webber's takeoff.

MALDONADO: The Venezuelan GP2 winner is going to get financial backing from Chavez for an F1 ride. Where he ends up will depend on who is most desperate for the despot's money. Well, at least he will be faster than Milka Duno, though not as ... ummm ... eye popping.

WORLD CUP: Whenever you think the FIA is the worst run sports organization in the world, FIFA will be there to remind you otherwise.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Penalties.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 5 -- The number of seconds a whole slew of drivers were penalized for an inane Safety Car rule violation which was as effective a penalty as Hamilton's drive through.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Valencia is not the first Spanish venue to host the European Grand Prix. Jerez hosted it twice -- 1994 (Michael Schumacher won) and 1997 (Mika Häkkinen). Going further back, the San Sebastián Grand Prix held at Lasarte in 1926 was given the honorary title of European Grand Prix. Jules Goux won in a Bugatti T39A.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Mark Webber being surprisingly philosophical, considering it's Webber, about his airplane ride, "I lost some points, but in the end when you're up there, you're not worried about points. I remain incredibly positive, we go on, it's half way through the Championship. Bloody hell, let's get on with it."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Fernando Alonso directing his crew after he saw Hamilton pass the Safety Car, "Get Charlie [Whiting, the FIA Race Director] onto the Hamilton case -- it's the only thing you have to do all race."

SCHEDULE: Off to the British Grand Prix at Donington ... ahhh ... Bernie, whatever did happen to those grand plans of yours, and yours only, to get rid of Silverstone once and for all?

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