Thursday 7 May at 12:00 : May 7 (GMM) Mild and often cloudy weather but no rain is forecast for this weekend's Spanish grand prix in Montmelo, located north of Barcelona

A number of changes have been made to the Circuit de Catalunya since last year's race

Notably, the rear of the gravel trap at the fast turn 9, where Heikki Kovalainen crashed heavily in his McLaren in 2008, has been raised by 1.5 metres

Finn Kovalainen said he has qualms about returning to the circuit a year on. "I've already done some testing there, and I've had no flashbacks. I've no bad memories from there, no trauma at all," he said

Meanwhile, most of the gravel trap at the high-speed turn 3 left hander has been asphalted, and nearly 4kms of new tyre barriers erected around the track