8 May 2014

Europe welcomes formula one this weekend

7:29 am on 8 May 2014

Formula One's European season kicks off in Spain this weekend with Lewis Hamilton on a roll and ready to wrest the championship lead from his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton has never won a grand prix in Spain but, after racking up three straight victories for the first time, the 2008 world champion can break new ground around Catalunya on Monday morning.

Hamilton is four points behind Rosberg despite winning three races to the German's one.

All the teams plan to bring upgrades to the European rounds and Renault, who power Red Bull and their four times world champion Sebastian Vettel, are confident they can bring much more to the party after a difficult start to the season.