One of the biggest talking points to come out of the Chinese Grand Prix was the impact of Fernando Alonso’s overtaking move on team mate Felipe Massa, just as they duo were entering the pits. It was Lap 20 and they were coming in together, Massa ahead of Alonso, when the Spaniard pulled off a move and had Massa fought back, both of them could have ended in the gravel trap. Both the drivers and the team have denied that things have been heated up following that move.

There is this thought that says Ferrari had Alonso’s tyres ready and relayed the message to him late, meaning he had no option but to find a way through or risk waiting around while the teams changed Massa and then got his tyres. As good as it sounds, one wonders if that is indeed possible after the mess the Scuderia made in Malaysia.

Think about it for a second though and if there is indeed no rift right now, this will be the defining moment that every one will look back to when there is one. Yes, there will be one soon. Just think what Massa will be thinking right now. Alonso is now walking about as if he owns the team, the very way he behaves in any team. If Massa relents now and his Shanghai performance left much to be desired, the Spaniard will be the official number one in no time.

One was surfing through a Formula One site recently (can’t remember which one) and there was an entry in one of the forums that in Australia, some words of fire were exchanged during Friday practice. It was something on these lines: Alonso was struggling for set-up and asking for Massa to share information, as the number one driver in the team should get access to all facts. Massa reportedly retorted by saying ‘that the number one driver should be able to sort out such problems himself.’

Alonso says there is nothing wrong and too much is being read into his overtaking move. Of course that can be considered but what if it was Massa who had pulled off such a move on him. A few toys would be falling out of the pram right about now.