We round-up all the rumours, gossip and tittle tattle from around the world of Formula One as Kimi Raikkonen seems set to come to metaphorical blows with Ferrari.

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Britain: Tension is said to be growing between the former world champion and the Scuderia. While officially the Italian team was willing to take the blame for the serious strategy error which left the Finn 16th on the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix, rumours in the Barcelona paddock indicated that Raikkonen is demanding more control over his qualifying strategy. The Daily Star reckons that Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has told team chiefs that Raikkonen, despite his huge salary, is not expendable.

Spain: Raikkonen's team-mate Felipe Massa has written off his title chances for this year in the wake of another bitterly-frustrating race with Ferrari, where he finished sixth as he was ordered to slow down during the closing stages to conserve fuel - otherwise there was a risk that he could run out. "I don't think this year, maybe next year," he said. "We have so many problems to solve. Brawn have now won four times in five races. How can you fight that?

Germany: Brawn, seemingly at odds with Rubens Barrichello, are set to put a Mercedes star on their car - but it is not Lewis Hamilton. Given Brawn's dominance and McLaren's struggles, Mercedes-Benz is considering adding corporate branding to the championship-leading BGP 001. The new team's use of the Stuttgart marque's engines this year is simply a customer deal, and a three-pointed star was not in Mercedes' original plans for the Brawn linkup, but Mercedes competition boss Norbert Haug told RTL: "We have possibilities and options and it has been offered to us."

United States: There could be two new American teams in 2010, not one. We all know that US GPE plans to submit an entry in the sport's new budget-capped era, but Bernie Ecclestone has now revealed that there could be a second team emerging from the States. Leading IndyCar Series contenders Penske and Andretti Green Racing are the most likely candidates, according to what Ecclestone told Reuters: "There's two American teams: it's super; it will be good to see some new faces. Something like that is always good."

Spain: Some grandstands were only half-full during qualifying for the last race in Barcelona, despite the Circuit de Catalunya usually proving a sell-out. The Spanish crowd idolises its hero Fernando Alonso, but the economic crisis, perhaps coupled with the fear of swine flu, has caused many fans to stay away in 2009. Alonso admitted as much, saying that elements of his home support just aren't that bothered now that he is no longer winning races.

Spain: The Spanish GP could find itself stripped of its place on the calendar after the racism that blighted testing at the Circuit de Catalunya early last year reared its ugly head again this weekend. In February 2008 Spanish fans with blackened faces and T-shirts emblazoned with the words 'Hamilton's Familly' (sic) earned the track a severe reprimand from the FIA, with the sport's governing body threatening 'serious sanctions' - ranging as far as the loss of both of the country's grands prix, in Barcelona and Valencia - should any such unsavoury episode reoccur. And guess what? Some moron blacked himself up again this weekend, pointing towards what appeared to be a McLaren-Mercedes steering wheel in an obvious reference to F1's first black world champion; and he was being cheered and encouraged by a number of other spectators.

France: Renault's executive director of Engineering Pat Symonds says he is not a fan of a 'two-tier' formula, which he sees F1 becoming in 2010 under the budget-cap regulations. "I don't think two-tier championships have ever worked in any series, whether its saloon cars and sports cars, where they are trying to equalise diesels and spark ignition engines, whether it's Formula One with turbos and normally-aspirated engines. I think that we all have the same intentions: we all want to spend less money. Where there are some differences of opinion is perhaps the monetary scale and time scale, but it's important that the transition towards a more cost-effective formula should be as smooth as possible."

Germany: Renault boss Flavio Briatore told Welt am Sonntag that they are not yet joining the threats of a 2010 entry boycott - like Toyota, Red Bull and Toro Rosso - but voiced their opposition to the budget cap, saying he does not like the idea of cheap teams. "Whoever has 20 or 25 million euros should not be able to operate a Formula One team: if we make that possible, the brand will be worth nothing. It would be like seeing discount stores suddenly established on an exclusive shopping street. Without big, important names - and Ferrari is one of them - Formula One is worth much less."

United States: Former Jordan, Honda and Super Aguri racer Takuma Sato is eyeing a move into IndyCar. The Japanese travelled to Indianapolis this week to visit the fabled speedway as qualifying for the Indy 500 got underway.