Massa manages 3rd in Monaco

Fernando Alonso gave McLaren their 150th Grand Prix victory, leading teammate Lewis Hamilton to a dominant one-two around the streets of Monte Carlo. Third-placed Felipe Massa was a minute adrift of the McLarens by the flag, and the rest of the field was lapped. Although Massa was never in contention for victory, he had no trouble staying clear of the rest of the pack. Kimi Raikkonen managed to climb up to 8th position from 16th, after his crucial mistake in qualifying.

Massa cruises to Spanish GP win

Felipe Massa took his second successive victory with a dominant performance in the Spanish Grand Prix after his third consecutive pole position.

Local hero Fernando Alonso could only finish third after tangling with Massa at the start of the race, while Lewis Hamilton now takes the championship lead thanks to his third consecutive second place finish.

Massa, winner of two races this year, is three points behind Hamilton, with Kimi Raikkonen, who retired from today's race, eight points adrift.

Alonso tried to go around the outside of Massa at the first corner, but banged wheels with the Ferrari as he did so, sending the McLaren across the gravel and allowing Hamilton and Raikkonen to sweep past.

Massa proceeded to command the rest of the race, although he had a scare at his first pitstop when a small fuel spillage caused a dramatic fire on the side of his Ferrari as he pulled away.

But the damage was only superficial, and the Brazilian was able to resume his dominant progress towards another win, extending his advantage to nearly 20 seconds before backing off in the closing stages.

Alonso made a spirited early attempt to pass Raikkonen on the outside at Turn 10, and then benefited when the Finn suffered a rare Ferrari failure and parked with electrical problems after just 10 laps.

Schumi in Spain

Michael Schumacher told the press at the Spanish Grand Prix that he is happy to be involved with the Ferrari team still. He is glad to see that his 'friends' are doing so well and is enjoying his observatory role whilst always being on call for the team when it seeks his input.

"I help in any way I can. As far as team briefings are concerned I'm there when they need me," Schumacher said.

When asked if he was looking at drivers he answered: "No, I'm more looking at the team structure, what's going on inside the team. They are doing incredibly well, the re-structuring has been very good. I'm happy to see the way things are going. I was part of the team for such a long time that you make so many friends. Therefore, I'm happy that we as a team are doing well."

The German hinted that he would be interested in a more involved role with the team by saying he misses seeing his ex-colleagues more often.

"The difference is certainly very obvious. It is an interesting experience to not wake up every morning and be thinking about driving. It's exciting watching the races. I hang around talking to the team after tests but you do wish that you could spend more time with the guys."

New aero parts tested this week in Spain

As we head back into Europe now, the developments for the F2007 start to come thick and fast. With testing taking place in Barcelona this week it was time for Ferrari to try out some new parts. A good aero package on this circuit gives good results and Ferrari haven't been short on new pieces.

A new front wing has been introduced where the end parts of the main plane now slant more upwards towards the endplates.

The engine cover has had an overhaul and now includes different gills which are situated further back on the bodywork. The cover itself does not slant down as much and resembles more like the BMW Sauber engine cover.

The sidepods have been redesigned and the reason for that is that the oil and water radiators have been resized and are smaller

The aero fins which are situated just off the sidepods, near the wing mirrors have been doubled in length.

It all seems to be good though as Ferrari have topped both 2 days of testing so far.

Brawn - Ferrari still my priority

Former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn has made clear that he favours a return to the Italian team over Formula One rivals when he completes a sabbatical at the end of the year.

"I have had a few phone calls from different people and I've told them the same," the Briton told Autosport magazine in an interview.

"I won't enter any discussions with anybody until my situation is clear at Ferrari.

"Once I know my position in July, if there is no solution at Ferrari and I do want to get back in, I'll see what opportunities are around," he added.

Brawn, the tactical mastermind behind Michael Schumacher's seven championships with Benetton and Ferrari, took a sabbatical last October after the German driver had announced his retirement.

British-based Honda, without a point in three races this season, have openly expressed an interest in securing his services.

However most Formula One insiders expect Brawn to return to Ferrari, moving into a team leadership or management role rather than as a technical director.

"I have a lot of allegiances with Ferrari, there's no doubt," said Brawn.

"If we find a nice solution there, if we find something that they would like me to do and something that I would find a challenge, I would be delighted because they are a great group of people.

"I'm not sure I'd just want to go back to what I was doing before," he added. "Plus, other people have moved into that role and are clearly doing a very good job. It would be unfair for me to go back into that role.

"So it could be a different role within Ferrari or it could be a similar role I played at Ferrari when I arrived, which was a restructuring one."