Vettel’s Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber was victorious in Monte Carlo last year, as the German finished fourth after starting from ninth on the grid.

And the 25-year-old, who tops the drivers’ standings heading into the race, admits that the street circuit is one of the most testing on the F1 calendar.

“Monaco is one of my favourite tracks and driving it is an absolute challenge,” said Vettel.

“You can’t even make the smallest mistake. If you do, you’re lucky if it’s just that your lap time is bad. If you’re not paying attention, you’ll end up in the barrier.”

Vettel believes that the key to success in Monaco lies in qualifying, with overtaking notoriously difficult in the Principality.

“Overtaking is possible, but only with risk – the best place for that is before the chicane. We come out of the narrow tunnel at more than 300kph and race to the first gear-chicane – whoever brakes later wins.

“Ideally you have a good qualifying session and start from far forward.”

Alonso hit the front early on and saw off the challenge of Kimi Raikkonen at the Circuit de Catalunya to move into third in the drivers’ championship.

The Spaniard paid tribute to his home support and the staff at Ferrari for delivering a memorable race day.

“It was definitely a fantastic emotion,” said Alonso.

“You feel the support from everybody and every single member of the team taking care of every detail because we want to do well here in front of our fans.

“We did it, we are happy for that but we don’t want to stop here, obviously.”

Felipe Massa completed the front three, and a Ferrari double podium, to help the team leapfrog Lotus into second in the constructors’ championship.

The Italian team capitalised on a poor Grand Prix for Red Bull to move within 24 points of the leaders, but Alonso insisted their plans do not change.

“Nothing really changes,” he added. “We know that we have five races only, some ups and downs.

“Some races we had a good race with no problems and some races we had some mistakes, mechanical problems as well that we don’t want to repeat.

“We know that we have a car to fight at the top and if we do well we can fight for the championship.”

Massa’s third-placed finish is his first podium of this season, which he secured from back in ninth on the grid.

And the diminutive Brazilian believes the result is a sign he is back to his best on the track and that Ferrari are now hitting form.

“Yeah, I think so,” said Massa. “I was disappointed after the qualifying, losing three places, but the race was very good for us, our car was fantastic.

“We were very aggressive straight away, I took back the positions – I think after the first lap I was already sixth.

“I think the race was very good for us.”

The Ferrari driver is undoubtedly a hero at the Circuit de Catalunya and his early passes in Barcelona were greeted with huge cheers from the Spanish crowd. Alonso put in a sensational drive to leave the home fans purring, taking the lead in lap 13 after starting fifth on the grid.
The Spaniard made short work of Mercedes’ pole-starter Nico Rosberg and fellow frontrow Lewis Hamilton, having passed Kimi Raikkonen in turn one. The former world champion utilised his Ferrari’s pace to storm clear of the pack with a four-stop strategy and collect a confident win nearly ten seconds ahead of Lotus’ Raikkonen.

Mercedes just not at the races

With Nico Rosberg starting on pole and team-mate Lewis Hamilton qualifying second, you could be forgiven for thinking this was going to be a weekend for Mercedes. But despite the Silver Arrows collecting their third pole position in as many races, Rosberg and Hamilton were well aware it was never going to be plain sailing. The German said after qualifying he was cautious going into the race and, with both drivers overtaken by Alonso early on, it is clear to see why. Mercedes just did not have the pace to compete and the most exciting part of Hamilton’s race was being dragged into a battle with former team-mate and fellow Brit Jenson Button in the midfield. Mercedes clearly have the potential for Hamilton and Rosberg to trouble the drivers’ championship leaders, but performances are coming all too inconsistently so far this season.

Championship is still wide-open

Fernando Alonso’s second-ever win in his native Spain, after a 2006 success with Renault, means both the drivers’ and constructor’s championships are still wide open after five races of the 2013 season. It was Alonso’s second win of the championship, Sebastian Vettel also has two wins, but Kimi Raikkonen’s consistency has put the Finn right in the mix. The Lotus driver has one win and three second places and sits just four points behind Red Bull’s Vettel with Alonso’s Spanish win putting him less than 20 points behind the German. Ferrari closed in on Red Bull in the constructors’ championship as Felipe Massa came from ninth on the grid to take a podium place and Raikkonen’s performance keeps Lotus in the hunt, despite teammate Romain Grosjean being forced to retire early on.

Alonso, on a four-stop strategy, finished just under 10 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen to put pressure on Sebastian Vettel at the top of the drivers’ championship.

The Ferrari front-runner started brilliantly from fifth, passing Raikkonen in turn one and rounding former teammate Lewis Hamilton on the outside of turn three.

By lap 13 the Spaniard was leading, passing Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg with ease to the delight of the crowd in Barcelona.

Alonso held a ten second lead from Raikkonen with 12 laps remaining and completed a faultless race to collect his second win in Spain after victory with Renault in 2006.

Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa, who started ninth, had sat behind Alonso at the half-way mark, but Raikkonen came out of his final pit stop flying to pip the Brazilian to second place.

Raikkonen and Vettel went wheel-to-wheel on lap 33 and the Finn’s determination saw him pass the world champion, who was warned to protect the tyres on his Red Bull.

Hamilton and Rosberg had voiced concern over their Mercedes pre-race, despite the Silver Arrows securing a third straight pole, and it proved a miserable afternoon for the Brit in particular.

Rosberg salvaged some pride as the German overcame his Mercedes’ apparent lack of pace to finish in the points with a sixth place finish.

But Hamilton, who started second on the grid, made his frustration known to the Mercedes team over the radio when he was over taken by Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in lap 29.

Despite Mercedes reassuring the former world champion he was on for a fifth place finish, Hamilton was drawn into a battle with ex-team-mate Jenson Button for 14th place a lap later.

Button was passed, but gained revenge several laps later as he overtook the Mercedes new boy in a midfield battle, finishing eight and four places ahead of Hamilton.

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean was forced to retire for the first time this season early in the race, followed by Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde and Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne.

Spanish Grand Prix 2013: Result

1. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 66 laps 1hr 39m 16.596s

2. Kimi Raikkonen Finand Lotus-Renault +00m 09.3s

3. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 26.0s

4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 38.2s

5. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 47.9s

6. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +01m 08.0s

7. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +01m 08.9s

8. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +01m 19.5s

9. Sergio Perez Mexico McLaren-Mercedes +01m 21.7s

10. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap

11. Esteban Gutierrez Spain Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap

12. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap

13. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +1 lap

14. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault +1 lap

15. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap

16. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault +1 lap

17. Charles Pic France Caterham-Renault +1 lap

18. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Cosworth +2 laps

19. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Cosworth +2 laps

Rtd Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 52 laps completed

Rtd Giedo van der Garde Holland Caterham-Renault 21 laps completed

Rtd Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 8 laps completed

The German claimed his second pole in as many races before Hamilton secured a Mercedes front row, while the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel rounded off the top three.

But Rosberg was at pains to point out the work is not over after failing to press home the qualifying advantage in Bahrain with a ninth-place finish.

“It’s always a good motivational boost, especially for the team – front row is fantastic,” he said.

“But of course I have to be wary because of what happened in Bahrain. It’s nice, but it’s to be enjoyed with caution.

“I was thinking about Bahrain a lot, so I’m a bit surprised to be as quick here.”

Hamilton was the favourite heading into Q3, posting a storming lap in the second qualifying session to lead the field by six tenths of a second.

The 28-year-old – who opted for just one flying lap in the final ten minutes – heaped praise on both Rosberg and his team.

“Congratulations to Nico – he did a great job, so I’m very happy,” said Hamilton.

“But also well done for the team. This is all down to the great work everyone’s doing back in the factory so I’m very proud to get a front row for them all.

“But as Nico said, we have to approach it with caution as the race is going to be tough.

“I didn’t have two option sets in the end which would have helped, but Nico was just a little quicker.”

By finishing third, Vettel beat rival Red Bull Mark Webber by five places, while Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen will join him on the second row.

Catalunya’s final sector has proved a bugbear of Vettel’s in the past, but the three-time world champion insists he is getting better after coming closest to matching Mercedes’ blistering pace.

“I was pretty happy with the last sector because historically, it’s been a bit weak for me,” he said.

“So I think after a couple of years I think I now understand the last few corners a bit better.

“In practice I wasn’t really happy, but I think we improved the car as things calmed down to have a pretty smooth qualifying session.

“We had a little bit of a different approach to the majority of people – using option tyres only – and whether that will help us in the race we shall see.”

The German finished a tenth of a second ahead of his team-mate as they locked out the front row, ahead of world champion Sebastian Vettel.

No one was eager to get out immediately in Q1, with Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo the first to post a time seven minutes into the session.

But more quickly followed and home favourite Fernando Alonso and Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa both set times of 1:22.264 and 1:22.492 respectively, building on solid laps set in practice.

Hamilton – on the medium tyre – took the lead with a 1:21.728 to secure his passage into Q2, just ahead of team-mate Rosberg and triple world champion Vettel.

The Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado dropped out ahead of Giedo van der Garde, Jules Bianchi, Max Chilton and Charles Pic.

Q2 also began slowly, but Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen set the pace on a fresh set of medium tyres with a 1:21.676 lap time before Alonso went three hundredths quicker moments later.

Red Bull duo Vettel and Mark Webber found some pace as the former went quickest with a 1:21.602, before Hamilton took six tenths off to go ahead of the German.

Jenson Button in his off-the-pace McLaren dropped out in 14th but his young team-mate Sergio Perez outqualifed him for the first time to make it into Q3.

Rosberg set the early pace in Q3 with a time of 1:20.824 as Mercedes’ speed in the final sector continued to grow.

A grandstand finish saw all ten cars on track and Rosberg improve his time, as Vettel and Raikkonen finished behind him and Hamilton, with the two Ferraris fifth and sixth.

Spanish Grand Prix 2013: Qualifying times

1. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 20.718s

2. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 20.972s

3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 21.054s

4. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 21.177s

5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 21.218s

6. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 21.219s

7. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1m 21.308s

8. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 21.570s

9. Sergio Perez Mexico McLaren-Mercedes 1m 22.069s

10. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 22.233s

11. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 22.127s

12. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 22.166s

13. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 22.346s

14. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 22.355s

15. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Sauber-Ferrari 1m 22.389s

16. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 22.793s

17. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault 1m 23.260s

18. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault 1m 23.318s

19. Giedo van der Garde Holland Caterham-Renault 1m 24.661s

20. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Cosworth 1m 24.713s

21. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Cosworth 1m 24.996s

22. Charles Pic France Caterham-Renault 1m 25.070s

But a year on and more than a million views later, the 20-year-old racing driver has left tyre tread all over the internet.

Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit which undulates with menace, demanding its challengers to make a contortionist out of their bodies. Chuck a torrential downpour into the mix and it rides a bit like Space Mountain.

One element Dino did not expect to confront on the legendary track was a stationary car, like an apparition, cutting a swathe through the mist into his very immediate path. He veered, skated along the turf, adjusted and slotted back onto the tarmac – gaining a few places, too.

Cries of conspiracy poured in – anyone well-versed in social media knows a cynic’s hovel is entrenched in the comments page – but the Bristolian insists old-fashioned fortune was the force in play.

“There was a lot of luck involved, more so than natural instinct and pure reaction,” he admits. “But I was literally just driving along and suddenly it came into view.

“On that night I just asked my film editor to put it up. I was averaging 500-600 views on my videos before that so I was hoping for maybe double as many.

“But overnight it hit 2,000 views and within three days 20,000 – within a week, 100,000. It was all a bit of fun and you were wondering where it was going to stop.”

This is not a tale of an over-pampered boy racer adding fame to his fortune. In 2012, Dino was more concerned about chasing funding than podiums.

To even enter a Formula 1 team’s eye-line, big-money backing is a strict requirement. It is not a case of plonking down a swimming pool in an underprivileged area, or as Dino puts it, “kicking round a football to get a taste for it”.

Ironically, the rising price of petrol is the last thing on the mind of a driver rapping at the door of an elite members’ club. Who will pay for a bigger engine, a better chassis, the mechanics, the transport, the race fees?

Last year Dino competed in the FIA’s ‘lower-cost alternative’, Formula Two. It was nothing like a single-step down from the pinnacle as its name suggests, but without any capital to even practice – despite winning British Automobile Racing Club’s Formula Renault championship in 2011 – it was a way to keep the dream alive.

“It was a good series, it had its benefits and cons, but I didn’t know what I was doing with it except that need to keep racing,” he says.

“I had to just keep carrying on last year, not knowing where I was heading, admittedly, but raising my profile and using it as a kind of holding year whilst still racing.

“Success was going to be limited with not being able to know the tracks or car – all the behind-the-scenes things you wouldn’t necessarily think of. I had to accept it and do my very, very best.

“So I took that opportunity as well as working on the other side of the industry which is the promotional stuff. The video was timely and a blessing in disguise but it did not mean things fell into my lap.”

Perseverance proved a virtue. Dino found hometown backing in the form of Bristol Sport, a company spearheaded by Bristol City and Bristol Rugby owner Steve Lansdown.

The prize, a berth on Marussia’s Young Driver Programme and a chance to compete in GP3, of which three drivers have gone on to reach Formula 1 in as many years. It is a spit in the eye to the principle of Catch-22.

“It is a real horrible cycle,” says Dino. “To carry on racing to get the sponsorship you need to win the race, but you can’t do that because you can’t win.

“You’ve got to be really lucky and get that break, and fortunately I managed to catch one this year and have the opportunity to show people what I can do.

“In years gone by, I’ve had to rely on natural ability and to have a bigger hunger for the sport than those around me.”

It is not to say Dino was raised in poverty or forced to go without. His father, former Powerboat racer Mike, actively encouraged him into four-wheel racing once the six-year-old became enthralled with the antics of Michael Schumacher each and every weekend. “How many children at that age,” he asks, “get the opportunity to do that?”

But relative wealth is no match for the absolute. Ayrton Senna, a champion of an impoverished Brazilian people, was the benefactor of a near bottomless pit.

And though Formula 1 is exacting swingeing cuts in a pound-saving exercise, the ascent up its golden stairway remains paved in the alms of the rich.

Indeed, the closest most reach is in the realms of a virtual reality, with a controller, a PlayStation and an HDTV.

As the lines between the real and the simulated blur, could the gaming industry one day provide an exact enough experience for youngsters to showcase their skills from bedrooms?

“For me, a computer isn’t close enough,” insists Dino. “When I won [in Formula Renault] it was clear I was the quickest guy on the track.

“But on the simulation, a chap right at the back who was two seconds off my time was about three tenths ahead of me

“When it gets into a real situation out on track – where there’s danger involved – in practice, there’s difference.

“I think the only option is get a bunch of go-karts with exactly the same models and jump in.

“No one’s got any favouritism, no one’s got different mechanics – just see who wins the race. That probably is the closest you’re going to get.”

Dino, who tackles a sun-soaked Catalunya circuit on Friday as the GP3 calendar kicks off, is finally on even ground. Ability, in its purest form, will dictate his bid to earn Formula 1 racing stripes.

He’s certainly got a slick enough name for it.

The defending world champion ended up just 0.017 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, with Vettel’s Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber third.

Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen was fourth-quickest ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

“Overall, we can be happy with today,” said Vettel. “This afternoon was fairly conclusive, but this morning wasn’t really much good with the weather.

“We have some new parts here but the days of big, big upgrades don’t really happen now with the regulations how they are.”

Pirelli have brought a revised version of their hard tyre compound for the race at the Circuit de Catalunya, which is slightly harder than the one used so far this season.

“It’s hard to say much about the harder tyre,” Vettel continued. “I think the number of pit stops will be the same here in this race as at the last few.”

Hamilton, who is currently third in the drivers’ standings in his first season at McLaren, was satisfied with the day overall.

“It’s been OK,” said Hamilton. “Not the greatest of days but we’ve learnt a lot and we have a lot of work to do to find out where we can improve with the balance.

“We’ve added downforce so that’s a positive. I’m very happy with the work everyone has done; we just have to extract it.”

Spanish Grand Prix: Friday practice combined times

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 22.808s

2. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 22.825s

3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 22.891s

4. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 23.030s

5. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 23.110s

6. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 23.140s

7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 23.398s

8. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 23.840s

9. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 24.058s

10. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 24.104s

11. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 24.175s

12. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 24.306s

13. Sergio Perez Mexico McLaren-Mercedes 1m 24.854s

14. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault 1m 24.888s

15. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Sauber-Ferrari 1m 25.167s

16. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault 1m 25.321s

17. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 25.441s

18. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1m 25.851s

19. Giedo van der Garde Holland Caterham-Renault 1m 25.963s

20. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Cosworth 1m 26.078s

21. Charles Pic France Caterham-Renault 1m 26.930s

22. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Cosworth 1m 26.970s

23. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Caterham-Renault 1m 28.373s*

24. Rodolfo Gonzalez Venezuela Marussia-Cosworth 1m 30.314s*

Hamilton and his team-mate Nico Rosberg have take pole position at the last two races but were unable secure wins at both China and Bahrain as they struggled to match the pace of the front-runners.

However, the 28-year-old believes that Mercedes have a good chance of challenging at the Circuit de Catalunya and says that the team have addressed the rear tyre degradation issue that had hampered their recent performances.

“I definitely think this is going to be a little bit different,” said Hamilton, who is third in the drivers’ standings.

“Bahrain was very much rear-limited [degradation], but on my side of the garage it was quite positive, certainly in the second half of the race so I’m excited about the things we learnt in the race and hopefully we can bring them here.

“Here it’s more of a balance between front and rear degradation, so front left and the rear tyres will be the interesting ones. Here we have a new harder tyre which will hopefully play into our hands a little bit more.

“Everyone is in the same boat, but with the temperatures also I think we stand a better chance.”

In a move that had widely been expected, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery revealed that there will be another set of tyres available for teams ahead of the race at the Circuit de Catalunya on 12 May.

“As permitted by the current regulations, we’ll be supplying an extra set of prototype hard compound tyres for free practice, which will hopefully ensure that all the cars run throughout these sessions,” he said.

“It’s something we wanted to do to encourage all the teams to run as much as possible right from the start, especially with the rookie drivers, to give fans the spectacle they deserve to see.”

Hembery also confirmed that Pirelli will be unveiling an updated version of its hard compound for the race.

“We’re introducing a revised version of our hard tyre in Spain, which is closer in characteristics to the 2012 tyre,” he continued.

“This new tyre gives us a wider working temperature window – although it delivers a little bit less in terms of pure performance – but it should allow the teams to envisage an even wider variety of race strategies than before in combination with the other compounds, which remain unchanged this year.

“This is a decision that we’ve come to having looked at the data from the first four races, with the aim of further improving the spectacle of Formula One. In fact this is almost a tradition with us now, as we also introduced a revised version of the hard tyre for the Spanish Grand Prix in 2011, which was our first year in the sport.

“We’d expect the medium tyre to still be significantly faster and this is the one that the teams are likely to qualify on, whereas the hard is likely to be the preferred race tyre.”