Rumour mill in full swing as paddock gossips about Adrian Newey & Fernando Alonso

Spring has barely sprung but the F1 rumour mill is already in full swing amid renewed speculation Ferrari are once again chasing Adrian Newey while a frustrated Fernando Alonso could leave the team at the end of 2014.

Which isn't to say that Alonso is happy at Ferrari. The Spaniard might remain a model of resilience in public - and excellence on the track - but he would have to possess the patience of a saint not to have grown weary of the Scuderia's ongoing failure to deliver him a competitive car. The F14 T is arguably only the fourth fastest car on the grid at present. "It's not out of the question that in the second-half of the season that Fernando will be looking for a seat which is not at Ferrari," acknowledged Brundle during Sky F1's coverage from Barcelona. Amid such desperate times for both team and driver, even a previously-unthinkable reunion with McLaren has long ceased to be considered outlandish. Whether Alonso's frustrations and wanderlust would be quelled by the arrival of Newey is a moot point, but may be a factor in the Scuderia's reputed pursuit of Red Bull's resident technical genius. Amid the fevered speculation, the only certainty appears to be that Ross Brawn will not be returning to Ferrari in the near future despite being spotted at the team's Maranello base last week. "I had some communication from Ross, and I know some of the friends he was with during the visit, and he says 'they know I have no intention of coming back to a full-time position in F1 at the moment'. People are reading too much into the visit. Ross is not on his way back to Ferrari at the moment." But in F1, it seems, nobody stays still for long. Coverage of Race Day, live on Sky Sports F1, starts at 11.30am with the Spanish GP underway at 1pm