THE BIG PICTURE: Could very well change when the blown exhaust systems are no more. Or, maybe not...

EVENT: The Monaco wannabe has the beaches but not quite the number of yachts.

QUALIFYING: We don't need no stinking engine mapping system.

RACE: The European journalists are going apoplectic over the "boring" race. Gee, we had seven excellent affairs, and one step backwards, and it's suddenly the end of the world. I thought the Europeans were so much more sophisticated than us American racing fans. Then, why couldn't they figure out when the leader is running away with the race, to look elsewhere in the field for exciting battles, where there were plenty.

TRACK: 25 turns. 'Nuf said.

START: Webber finally gets off strong, Alonso excites the home crowd, Rosberg takes advantage of Hamilton, and Petrov surprisingly has a terrible start.

VETTEL: Even if the blown exhaust ban starting at the next race affects Red Bull the most, it's probably too little, too late for Sebastian's competitors.

WEBBER: Clearly, last year was an aberration for Mark. He is being completely hammered by his teammate.

RED BULL: Pit stop masters.

ALONSO: Willed on by his fellow countrymen, Fernando will now be wondering what will happen at Silverstone.

MASSA: Ho hum.

HAMILTON: Lewis' string of second place finishes at Valencia comes to an end in a frustrating fifth place finish.

BUTTON: No Canada-like repeat.

ROSBERG: Nico is back to making his teammate look like a second rate driver.

SCHUMACHER: Michael is actually taking blame for collisions now? This comeback really has been a complete failure...

ALGUERSUARI: Another solid race, but Jaime needs to qualify better.

PEREZ: Welcome back Sergio.

KOBAYASHI: They should have a separate channel with dedicated cameras on Kamui. That would be more entertaining than the race itself.

KARTHIKEYAN: Everybody finished the race which means Narain truly did finish dead last.

ENGINE: Well, that new engine of the future didn't last very long. Now we have a new, for sure, this time we really, really mean it engine of the future.

GP2: The very interesting jinx continues. Every championship leader heading into the first race of a weekend (so you have to count Charles Pic's two points for the Valencia pole to make this work) has not scored any race points for that weekend. Good luck at Silverstone, Romain Grosjean...

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Inevitable.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 56 -- The number of laps Sebastian Vettel led out of 57.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: The first time a driver won back-to-back European Grands Prix (not including honorary designations) was in 1994-95 by Michael Schumacher, driving a Bennetton, the first year with Ford power, the second with a Renault engine. In 1994, the race was in Jerez, while in 1995 it moved to Nürburgring GP-Strecke.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Independent's David Tremayne describing the layout of the Valencia circuit, "For heaven's sake, even kids with their Scalextric come up with better layouts."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Hamilton once again showing his frustration with his team, "They didn't want to take the risk. The question is whether or not we would have finished (the race) if we had taken the risk, but then that is what risk is all about."

SCHEDULE: Everyone is eagerly awaiting the next race at Silverstone to see the affects of the new rule "interpretation."

Copyright © 2011 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.