Speaking to Pitpass, a Sauber spokesman said that nothing "sinister" should be read into the fact that Jacques Villeneuve only tested at Barcelona for one day.

"The objective of our test in Barcelona is to evaluate new aerodynamic components," Hanspeter Brack told Pitpass. "Our times were so slow and inconsistent on Wednesday, that the engineers are not certain about the cause.

"It was therefore decided to continue the test with Felipe Massa in order to have another reference," he added.

For some time there has been speculation that the former World Champion's position with the Swiss team is in serious jeopardy, indeed British magazine, Autosport, recently claimed that the team had held talks with BAR test driver Anthony Davidson.

At Bahrain last weekend the Canadian came close to scoring his first point since Monza 2003, until he was hit by David Coulthard in a move missed by the TV cameras.

The C24 has been disappointing thus far, despite Massa's points at Sakhir, and the Canadian, in particular, has voiced frustration at the 'feel' of the car and its lack of pace.