Following reports that Technical Manager Nigel Stepney (left) had left Ferrari, 'disillusioned with the restructuring at Ferrari and seeking a fresh challenge, the Italian team quickly claimed that the Englishman remains under contract.

A reliable source has informed Pitpass that Stepney informed him as long ago as the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos that he was seeking a "sabbatical" this year.

"Nigel told me at the Brazilian Grand Prix that he wanted to take a sabbatical in 2007," said the source. "He has a new child, but he also envisaged that this year would not have the order and control of years past due to Schumacher's and Brawn's departures, and his view obviously hasn't changed since October.

"I think he felt that the new regime was going to be, in the extreme, chaotic. Perhaps that's too strong a term to use, but he clearly wasn't confident in the changes," added our source.

Speaking to Pitpass last week, Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni was quite clear on the matter; "Nigel has a contract up to the end of the season 2007," he said, "and this remains valid".

It is widely speculated that Ross Brawn is also on a sabbatical this season, and will return in 2008.