The Flying Lap with Peter Windsor

We preview this weekend's Santander Spanish GP with Lewis Hamilton's track guide and a strategy insight from WilliamsF1's Mark Barnett. Brazil's new GP2 star, Felipe Nasr, also looks ahead to the start of the European season;  and, reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the passing of Gilles Villeneuve, we are joined by Jonathan Giacobazzi, owner of the 1979 F1 Ferrari 312/T4 that became an integral part of the Canadian's dazzling career. Jonathan's company, Donelli Wines, was a major Gilles sponsor in those Ferrari years and today Jonathan is both a Ferrari man and a purist of the truest kind.  With Jonathan, we'll be looking back at the GV events of the past week and also looking ahead to Barcelona - and to the prospects of Ferrari and Fernando Alonso in particular.

As Formula 1 runs its first in-season test in the Pirelli era, we are delighted to be joined live on-line by Paul Hembery, Director of Motorsport for Pirelli.  No stranger to The Flying Lap - or to New Media - Paul is respected up and down the pit lane not only for his knowledge and managerial skill but also for his obvious passion for the sport.  We'll be talking to Paul about the season so far and about one of the key characteristics of the first four races - the relatively small "operating window" of the Pirelli compound combinations;  and we'll be looking at all the latest trends from the Mugello test, where most of the F1 teams and top drivers are running.  We also spoke to Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg shortly before he left home for Day Three in Mugello.  Nico reflects on his first four races with the team, the current standing of the VJM05-Mercedes and his prospects in the upcoming Spanish and Monaco Grands Prix.  Our third guest, also joining us on-line, is Davide Valsecchi, the talented young Italian driver who has just made history by winning three GP2 races in a row.

Four races and four different winners!  On this occasion it was the World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, who rose to the top to win the Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain.  It was no walkover for Red Bull Racing, however.  Kimi Raikkonen qualified only 11th but my mid-distance was pushing Seb hard, looking for a way past.  Backed up by his young team-mate, Romain Grosjean, Kimi showed that LotusF1, too, are key players in this closest of F1 World Championships.  Joining us in the studio to discuss all this and more, we are delighted to welcome back to the show Karun Chandhok, an F1 race/test driver since 2010 and also an astute observer of the sport from many unique angles.  On-line from the LotusF1 base in Oxfordshire, England, Trackside Operations Director, Alan Permayne, also talks us through the Bahrain weekend and the qualities of James Allison's 2012 car, the E20; and, again joining us on-line from his "second home" -  the Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground north of Silverstone - Rob Wilson gives us his own, very eloquent views of the Seb-Kimi battle (and a little bit more besides!).  

With Nico Rosberg scoring his maiden career win in Shanghai, we look back at the events that defined his stunning weekend in China - at the speed of the Mercedes F1 W03 and at Nico's advantage in qualifying over his famous team-mate, Michael Schumacher.  Craig Scarborough will talk us through the technicalities of Mercedes' "double-DRS" system plus many of the other significant technical developments seen on the McLarens, Red Bulls and Ferraris - and Rob Wilson will be returning to the show to give us his view of Nico's driving style (and a few other comments besides!).  We also look forward to this Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix with the help of Williams F1 Strategy Engineer, Mark Barnett, and, courtesy of Hilton Honors, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.  There will be lots to talk about and to ponder - and so, for the first time, we will be making this a 90-minute show.