The dust has hardly settled on the 2009 Formula One season and already the warring words and psyching-out sessions have swung into action.
Never a man to shy away from the remotest chance to try and rattle the opposition is Ferrari chief Luca Montezemolo. And while the likes of McLaren rejoice in the pairing of champion Jenson Button with ex-champion Lewis Hamilton as a Formula One force to be reckoned with di Montezemolo scoffs at their claims of perfection in a dream partnership.
The Italian loftily dismisses McLaren's buoyancy and their promise of greatness, and maybe the championship, from the two Brits in a typically flamboyant fanfare of Ferrari's double act, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
"For me, they are the best drivers in F1," he says, "they are already proven as superbly skilful and gifted winners."
Massa and Alonso, the former double-champion lured from Renault, are the £40 million (Dh240 million) a year duo who between them, says di Montezemolo, could recapture the world title for the Prancing Horse outfit.
They had not even had a joint run out, and had barely shaken hands on their tie-up, when Montezemolo was boasting: "I am convinced they will be very motivated and will want to be winners."
What about the risk in having two hot-blooded Latinos Spaniard Alonso and Brazilian Massa, vying for attention in the team?
"I am not the least bit worried about having two Latin drivers, which may be for the first time in the team's history," added the big noise from Maranello.
They both know full well that they are racing for Ferrari and not for themselves. I enjoy reminding everybody that here we have a real team spirit, not just in words but in reality.
"The finest example of that I can give is that of Michael Schumacher and our relationship. He didn't hesitate to be available to help the team in a difficult time."How much the now fired and gloomy Finn Kimi Raikkonen felt about team spirit is open to debate.
— The writer is a specialist in motor sport based in England
