Ferrari test driver Marc Gene (Pictured) says the team doesn't supply superior equipment to Fernando Alonso. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Alonso Not Getting Better Equipment Than Massa - Gene: Ferrari test driver Marc Gene has denied the team supplies superior equipment to Fernando Alonso. Spaniard Alonso, with a new long-term contract, is widely regarded as the famous Italian team's No. 1 driver, particularly with Felipe Massa struggling to keep up over the past two seasons. But Gene, also a Spaniard, told El Mundo newspaper: "I can confirm 100 percent that both Felipe and Fernando have the same materials at their disposal. If the results of Fernando have been superior, it is because of his very high level. I cannot judge what he did in his time at Renault and McLaren but I have worked with World Champions (Michael) Schumacher, (Jacques) Villeneuve and (Kimi) Raikkonen and Fernando is the one who impresses me the most. Before he arrived at Ferrari I had great expectations, and now that I've seen and studied and worked with him, I can say he has exceeded all of the expectations." Gene, meanwhile, said he does not believe it would be the right move for Ferrari to abandon work on the 150 Italia car in order to ensure a more competitive start to 2012. "It is true that the gap to Red Bull is significant, even if there are many races left. But no gap is unbridgeable, especially for a team like Ferrari. Also, if it is right that the regulations for next year do not change much, it is still useful to develop the current car because these improvements can also apply to the next one. Ferrari's philosophy is to not give up while the maths do not prove otherwise."

Haug Laughs Off Joke About Schumacher's Age: Norbert Haug has laughed off a joke made by Mercedes mechanics about Michael Schumacher's advancing years. A Dutch website this week revealed that the mechanics had pasted a 'photoshopped' photograph of the 42-year-old German to the garage toilet at Monaco depicting Schumacher as wrinkled, grey and bald. "On the wall there are many funny photos," Mercedes' motor racing vice president Haug explained to Bild newspaper. "Even those who love each other must never forget how to laugh at themselves." Haug defended the right of the team's hard-working mechanics to have a laugh. "If our boys did not have a sense of humor, they wouldn't have been able to repair a badly crashed car in half an hour," he said.

Raikkonen Refused Entry To Briatore Club In Monaco: Flavio Briatore addressed the media, proudly strolled the paddock and grid and appeared for the popular British motoring show Top Gear as F1's most prestigious Grand Prix took place last weekend in Monaco. But also in the Principality, another former member of the F1 circus was making a much lower-profile visit. Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 World Champion and now rally and NASCAR driver, rushed from a Nationwide race in the United States late on Saturday to be harborside in his yacht in time for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix. In his entourage were 'The Dudesons,' a ramshackle group of friends known on Finnish television for their highly popular and extreme Jackass-style show. Raikkonen, 31, was seen with the group as they relaxed in his yacht's open spa, and they also ventured to Briatore's 'Billionaire' nightclub — but were refused entry. The bouncers, apparently, failed to recognize the winner of 18 Grands Prix, and — enjoying his anonymity — Raikkonen failed to rebuke them and the party moved elsewhere. "Maybe it was just time to sleep," Spanish AS newspaper reporter Rafa Paya speculated.