Mark Webber earned arguably the most valuable win thus far this Formula One season. Entering the Spanish Grand Prix 32 points behind leader Jenson Button, Webber needed a strong finish, and he got it. Thanks to a dominating victory, Webber cut his points deficit by nearly half, and now finds himself fourth in the driver standings.

His teammate Sebastian Vettel again had to battle mechanical concerns, this time fighting front brakes that were about to give out. Unlike previous races in 2010, Vettel managed to battle through the issue and finish on the podium, thanks in part to a stunning accident by Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps. For Hamilton, it was sheer bad luck, and relatively costly, as he lost 10 points to Button in the standings.

Webber's win highlights a trend we'll likely see in the upcoming two races: winning from the pole. After all, Spain, Monaco and Turkey rank first, second and third, respectively, in regard to the highest percentage of drivers who have won from the pole since 2004.

Catalunya has seen the pole sitter take the race win every year since 2001, while the man on the pole at Monaco has won five of the past six events. Drivers starting outside the top three at Monte Carlo should be concerned, as the last man to win this famed event from outside the first three starting positions was Olivier Panis in 1996. He started from 14th in a race in which Michael Schumacher hit the barrier on the first lap and only seven cars ended up classified.

This year's edition could easily see an unlikely winner, similar to Jarno Trulli's victory in 2004. With all 24 cars scheduled to participate at the same time in Q1, it will be a hectic qualifying session, and if the top-level drivers are constantly in traffic, they could find themselves failing to make it to Q2 or Q3. From that point forward, it will be extremely difficult for quicker cars in the race to get by the leaders on the incredibly twisty and narrow circuit. It's somewhat ironic, as the most prestigious and difficult track on the schedule likely provides the most hope for a podium finish from mid-range teams.

If Red Bull can claim its sixth straight pole to begin the season, it would be the first occurrence that a single team took the first six poles of the year since McLaren in 1998, when the duo of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard claimed the first nine of that year.

As the teams quickly shuffle to Monaco for Thursday's practice sessions, eyes again will be on Michael Schumacher. Although he has not won this race since 2001, his five victories in Monte Carlo are tied for second-most with Mr. Monaco, Graham Hill, and one shy of Ayrton Senna's record six wins. Schumacher is coming off of his best finish of the season (fourth), and his new, longer wheelbase should help him at a high-downforce track like Monaco.

Fernando Alonso is the only other active driver to have won this race at least twice, and a third victory would mean he would join Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart as the only drivers to win at Monaco three times.

The strongest team could be McLaren, as the constructor has won three of the past five Grand Prix of Monaco events. But it likely will be an uphill battle for the McLaren outfit, which leads the constructors' championship. Over the past eight years at Monaco, only once has the leading constructor entering the race had both its entries finish among the top five (Brawn GP managed the feat last year). Just twice in that span has a driver from that constructor won, and in five of those eight years, the second finisher checked in at eighth or worse.

It will be interesting to see how defending Monaco winner Jenson Button fares; so far this year he seems to be either winning or not even in the mix up front.