It didn't take long for Fernando Alonso to revert to scheming and whining. The new season is only two races old and yet the Spaniard is already piling up the column inches after a decidedly mediocre start to the season by Renault.
How about this quote after the Malaysian Grand Prix: 'I always try to be in the best car. I'm at Renault because we won in 2005 and '06 and I want to do that again, this year or next. But when the option of leaving exists, I will try to be in the best car possible and it's clear Ferrari is one of the best.'
Here we go again. Remember last season when Alonso wanted away from McLaren? It wasn't a secret that he coveted a seat at Ferrari. As he says, he always tries to be in the best car. Philippe Massa must have felt a chill when he shared the podium with his teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Alonso at the last race in Brazil.
Make no mistake; with Ferrari sticking with their drivers and their contracts, Alonso is a refugee at Renault. It might be the place where he won two world titles, but it isn't a place he wants to be right now. When he rejoined Renault on a two-year contract, the team rubbished suggestion that he had a break clause that would enable him to jump to Ferrari for next year. After all, they pointed out Raikkonen and Massa would still be under contract.
Of course, this fails to recognise that Formula One is unlike any other business. It's more ruthless and teams have more than enough money to buy out any contracts, rendering them not worthless, but certainly not watertight either.
This knowledge must worry Massa. The season has not started well for him. No points after two retirements has had the paddock awash with rumours that he could be replaced not at the end of the season, but any time soon, forcing the Brazilian into a public denial.