"The only difference between Alonso and Massa is their psychology"

Esteban: With all due respect, how can Pastor Maldonado win an F1 race with a Williams car fending off the whole of Ferrari?

Hello Esteban, first of all you'd have to look at the Australia GP where Williams shone for the first time this year with a Renault engine. There you could see a high tempo and consistent tyres. Now, four races on, a good level of progression in the car has enabled them to gain around 0.5 seconds. This is one of the most even Formula 1 years in the last twenty years, which means what we're seeing is really down to the drivers, particularly in the way they're managing their tyres.

Ferrari and Fernando are doing a great jobs and progressing well, In my opinion much better than expected. But this brings us back to the same issue -the first fifteen cars run on between 1 and 1.5 seconds'difference so the driver has to run the tyres right down, but never more than the setlimit. Strategy is increasingly more important. Pastor did a fantastic job because he knew how to run his compound on the final laps. He gave Alonso an advantage at the beginning, but when he attacked he couldn't go past him. Of course, if you're behind Pastor things start to heat up and you start to lose fuel. The only thing you are doing is wearing everything down faster, that's why after one more lap Kimi ended up finishing second in the Grand Prix. I hope I've been able to clear things up for you. Regards, Esteban.

Germán: Do you think Ferrari's progress will continue in the forthcoming races?

Hello Germán, the truth is they've taken a big step forward and I think we'll continue to see Ferrari move on this year. There's still a lot of the championship left to decide and the one that makes the least errors will grace the podium. Regards, Germán.

Carlos G. C: Everything is all over the place this year, why do you think teams like Sauber and Williams are so competitive? What's happening to the big guns like Red Bull and McLaren?

Hello Carlos, this year the IAF has banned the use of low exhausts blowing out of the lower part of the rear wing. Teams have complied with this regulation by raising the exhausts, which means that they use fuel because of a higher performance. Red Bull? I guess as they are the founders of the diffuser exhausts, and after having developed the system so much in 2010 and 2011, the subsequent loss of fuel has affected them much more than the other teams. MClaren? It looked like they were going to dominate this year after finishing first and second in Melbourne. Good races and good results. It's true that the difference has been their performance on rougher circuits that heat up more. We'll see how they get on over the course of the year, but all of this has to do with the fact that the cars are much more evenly matched. That's the reason, that and of course the strategy they have and the way they manage the tyres. In my opinion this is the best Formula 1 for many, many years. May the best win (in every race). I hope I've been able to clear things up for you. Regards, Carlos.

Paco: Should Pastor Maldonado have been penalised for his quick lap when the yellow flag was up because Karthikeyan was off the track?

Hi there, Paco. To be honest I didn't notice that during the race, but if that's what happened than yes, he should have been penalised. Regards.

Sergio: Jaime, Do you think Alonso should ditch outdated Ferrari and go to Red Bull with Vettel?

Hello Sergio, I guess that would be a his own personal decision, not mine. Sorry I can't help you. Regards, Sergio.

Fernando Sánchez: Why is there such a big difference between Alonso's car and Massa's?

Hello Fernando, I imagine Massa will be going through a tough time in his sporting career, and the best thing to do in these situations is to forget what's going on around you and focus on your own performance and your own problems. Sometimes you're not competitive, something happens at a given moment and you don't know what it is. The worst thing you can do is doubt yourself, if you rush into things and put yourself on edge because you're only looking at what the other people in your team are doing then things can only get worse. To be the best in an elite sport does not only depend on your ABILITY as many people believe, the talent of an elite sportsman involves the control of psychological, physical and technical aspects in the particular sport. I'm positive that Massa is not a slow driver, I'm sure that one day he'll be like Fernando, or even faster. Why not? The only difference between them is their psychology, that's what makes the difference between being good and being the best. Regards, Fernando. I hope I've answered your question.

Thanks everyone, I'll see you at the next Grand Prix.

The Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari was answering five questions from AS.com users on the Spanish GP, won by Pastor Maldonado. Alonso finished second.