How much could Mercedes really have learned from their day testing with Pirelli at the Circuit de Catalunya? Nico Rosberg today reiterated that Mercedes learned nothing from the test and that Pirelli had complete control of the running. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, on the other hand, insist that the test will have been a “big help.” So what’s the truth?

Mercedes finally made good on their qualifying promise to claim the teams’ maiden win of the season. A flawless drive from pole to chequered flag saw Nico Rosberg take the second win of his career, finishing ahead of Vettel and Webber who took the remaining podium positions.

Criticism from certain teams plus growing complaints from some sections of the media and fans have led Pirelli to announce that they will change the tyres from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards. The new range is set to combine elements from the 2012 and 2013 tyres with the aim of having both durability and performance but what will the real consequences of the change be?

Red Bull owner, Dietrich Mateschitz is the latest to wade into the Pirelli discussion after watching Sebastian Vettel struggle to a fourth place finish in Spain. According to Autosport, the Red Bull boss was locked in a 45 minute private discussion with Bernie Ecclestone and then followed this up with scathing comments about Pirelli’s tyres.

Another strategy driven race, this time it was Ferrari and Fernando Alonso who surprised many with a four-stop race which allowed them to push the tyres to their limits and comfortably hold-off the three-stopping Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen.

Go back to 2011 and everyone seemed to be in love with Pirelli. It was a season that featured entertaining race after entertaining race, for the first half of the year at least, even if the championship itself failed to live up to their heights. Now, four races into their third season since returning to Formula One, the relationship seems to have cooled, with a growing group criticising the tyre supplier. So what has changed?

A fairly straight forward win for Sebastian Vettel saw all the interesting stuff happening behind him – sound familiar? Adopting the favoured strategy of three stops for hard tyres after starting out on the medium compound, it was interesting to note that the next four finishers all deviated from this approach…

A masterful victory from Fernando Alonso kept him out of the strategic battles going on behind and, at points in the race, around him. Taking the projected approach to the race of a three-stopper after starting on the soft tyre compound, the Ferrari driver took control of the race after coming out ahead of pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton in the first round of pit stops.