As Twitter buzzes with reports that Felipe Massa has been sacked just two weeks ahead of the news season, Ferrari posts a picture of the Brazilian attending a driver briefing.

One of the great dangers of social media such as Twitter is that a rumour that once would have taken days, maybe weeks, to take hold, cvan now snowball out of control in minutes.

Tonight, Twitter was buzzing with rumours that Felipe Massa had been sacked by Ferrari, leaving tweeters questioning the decision and speculating over who might replace him.

With the rumour already trending, Ferrari posted a picture (right) of the Brazilian, smiling and giving a thumbs-up, having just attended a briefing at the Circuit de Catalunya, where he is due to drive the F2012 tomorrow.

"The rumour mill on the internet appears to be working overtime with stories that Felipe has been sacked," the Maranello outfit tweeted. "It’s a shame he’s been too busy to keep up to date, as he’s been in the usual briefing with the engineers. Maybe the person writing this tale does not realise that Carnival ended some time ago..."

Explaining what must be the mother of Chinese whispers, one tweeter subsequently claimed that they had got to the bottom of the rumour, stating that; "Massa is NOT sacked, but Red Bull are bringing an all-new car to testing this weekend".

Ho hum.