The two-week gap between the Spanish and Monaco Grand Prix has been a relatively quiet one with the majority of teams taking the time to conduct some tests ahead of a gruelling European summer of racing.


Nonetheless, the driver merry-go-round continues unabated with the pendulum swinging towards Valentino Rossi once again, the Italian having been linked to a seat in the Ferrari-powered Red Bull before confirming a week later that he is not ready to join Formula One as soon as 2007.


His elimination from the rush for the remaining seats means that once again attention has turned to Ferrari and whether they have signed Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen for 2007, or whether the German will decide to retire, or indeed whether Raikkonen is even joining the Italian team. While they admit the decisions will be made in the coming weeks, no announcement is due until the Italian Grand Prix in September.


With Raikkonen expected to move and Juan Pablo Montoya failing to impress team bosses with his recent form, the door seems to have been left open for British youngster Lewis Hamilton to join Fernando Alonso in a McLaren-Mercedes next year, even if he denies that any such deal has been yet made.



Source: Crash.net