Ferrari has brought out Vettel's best and worst

Barcelona last weekend wasn't packed the way it used to be in those far-off times when Fernando Alonso had a competitive car, but still the crowd was a healthy one, doubtless padded by the local hero's showing in qualifying, when he produced the lap of the year so far, setting seventh best time - behind only Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull - in a McLaren-Honda slowest of all through the speed trap.

When one considers that Alonso had missed FP1 in its entirety, and much of FP2, this was an amazing performance, but if he was clearly elated on Saturday afternoon, he was under no illusions about race day: "If I can make up some places at the start, it could be fun - but if I lose some, it will be a long afternoon."

It turned out to be the latter. At the first corner Valtteri Bottas nudged Kimi Raikkonen into Max Verstappen, and as Raikkonen and Verstappen, their cars damaged, came back on the circuit, Felipe Massa was obliged to swerve right, which in turn put Alonso briefly off the road.

For Alonso and Massa it would indeed be a long afternoon thereafter, but for Verstappen and Raikkonen - who fought for the win at Barcelona a year ago - quite the opposite. Both were out on the spot, and Bottas, winner last time out at Sochi, didn't make the finish, either.

As has been the way of it in 2017 thus far, the Spanish Grand Prix quickly distilled to another two-hander between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, and it must be said that for the moment this duel, for all its intensity, remains remarkably good-natured.

A cynic might suggest that ultimately this will change, because these things always do, but as of now the behaviour of both men is unfailingly genial. They are not, as Lewis said, 'best friends', like he and Nico Rosberg once were - but then it was the baggage of those youthful days that subsequently caused so many problems.

Instead he and Sebastian, never too close, have an uncomplicated respect for each other.

You can say, of course, that at present it's easy for them to be this way. We are only a quarter of the way into the season, far from the gravy strokes of the closing races, and there is a lightness of manner about both men not apparent in 2016, when they glowered their way through the season, Vettel ill-tempered and distracted by a disappointing Ferrari, Hamilton invariably surly and off-hand whenever his team-mate was around.

If Lewis occasionally has off days, Seb takes it a step further, and apparently has off seasons. In 2013 he won his fourth consecutive world championship - and after that season's summer break, let's remember, no one else won a race.

Nine on the trot he reeled off, and I recall his joy on the radio as he did his trademark doughnuts at the now defunct Indian Grand Prix: "We have to remember these days, boys - it won't always be like this..."

He was right. In 2014, with the 'blown floor' gone, Vettel swiftly concluded that he didn't like new hybrid Formula 1 at all. For one thing, a different team - Mercedes - was suddenly dominant; for another, he was comprehensively outdriven by his new Red Bull team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo.

Didn't sit well, that, and when Marco Mattiacci - Sergio Marchionne's inexplicable choice as Ferrari team manager - approached him with a view to replacing Alonso, Seb was only too happy to come on board as Raikkonen's team-mate for 2015.

At the time I thought back to something Mark Webber, Vettel's erstwhile team-mate, had said to me the previous winter. "You know what? I reckon Seb will do everything early in life: he's got his championships and his results early, he's going to have a kid early, and I think he'll retire early - probably a blast in the red car, and then sayonara... It'll be just his luck to go to Ferrari when they have one of their golden periods!"

At the beginning it certainly looked that way. After an atrocious 2014 season, Ferrari came out of the blocks impressively the following year, Vettel winning in Malaysia, only his second race with the team, then taking another victory in Hungary before dominating in Singapore. If Mercedes remained the team to beat, Seb was well in the vicinity, revelling - like all new Ferrari drivers - in life at Maranello.

Last year, though, fell way short of his expectations. In 21 races Mercedes lost only twice - each time to Red Bull - and it must be said Vettel didn't cope well. As in 2014, the schoolboy grin was rarely to be seen, while in the car he was never off the radio, growling contemptuously if some hapless soul inadvertently delayed him by a tenth or two.

In Mexico, infuriated that Verstappen had not been penalised for cutting across a corner, Sebastian completely lost it, offering four-letter advice to Charlie Whiting, at which point Maurizio Arrivabene firmly intervened, suggesting he calm down and concentrate on his driving.

Frequently outpaced by Raikkonen, a driver considered past his best, he was letting petulance get the better of him. One hesitates to imagine his behaviour had he been in a McLaren-Honda.

This year it's all change again. Ferrari's progress over the winter has confounded the paddock, and Sebastian is once more back to his best, in the car and out of it. Plainly Hamilton, the breathless winner at Barcelona, is savouring the novelty of a scrap with someone other than his own team-mate, and the two of them gave us the best Spanish Grand Prix for years.

Now all we need is Ricciardo, Verstappen and Alonso in the mix.