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Ferrari’s erstwhile technical director Aldo Costa has lost the job in the latest Maranello reshuffle.

He has been moved aside to take on ‘new responsibilities,’ the phrase usually used by the company when a key race team member has been found wanting.

A short statement said: “Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro announces that, as from today, Aldo Costa relinquishes his current position as Technical Director to take on new responsibilities within the Company.

“At the same time, the technical activity has been restructured in three areas: Director for the Chassis side is Pat Fry, Production is in the hands of Corrado Lanzone, while Engine and Electronics continues with Luca Marmorini. All three report directly to the Team Principal, Stefano Domenicali.”

The FIA has agreed with the views of the majority of F1 drivers and decided not allow DRS to be operable in the Monaco tunnel.

Charlie Whiting wrote to the teams today confirming the decision, and also forwarded a copy to the Grand Prix Drivers Association.

Although the race DRS zone is on the pit straight, drivers would have been able to use it in practice and qualifying through the tunnel and on the run down to the chicane.

The feeling among the drivers was that there were too many risks involved given the high speed and very tight nature of that part of the track, and that the teams would inevitably pressure them to push the limits of DRS usage.

The matter was discussed in Friday’s drivers’ meeting in Barcelona – where they again said that they didn’t want to use it all in Monaco – and Whiting told them that he would give it further consideration.

The FIA was swayed by the fact that there have been instances this season of drivers ‘getting out of synch’ on a busy lap and having the wing open when they thought it was closed. While that hasn’t much of an issue on the traditional tracks we’ve been to up until now, it was thought that the margins in the tunnel were too small to take any risks.

The FIA had originally argued that it would simply be up to the drivers to judge when to use it, as they have done at every other track this year.

That viewpoint was shared by Renault team boss Eric Boullier: “My own view is that the drivers will build up their confidence gradually during free practise and by the time qualifying arrives they will know in how much of the tunnel they can safely use the DRS wing.

“Often in the past the tunnel has been very tricky to take flat out at the start of the race weekend when the track is poor. This has not caused the drivers to crash, they have simply built up their pace gradually until they were confident that it could be taken flat – I think the same approach will emerge with the DRS.”

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali admits that Ferrari was simply not on the pace in Spain today, but says that it’s too early to write off the team’s title challenge.

Ferrari has until now showed good race pace, and he’s hoping that the move to the supersoft tyres over the next two races will help to give the team a boost.

“We need to be very cautious,” said Domenicali. “We have seen so many different things happening in the first couple of races since the beginning that it’s difficult to make a judgement at the moment. For sure what we have seen today was expected, where here unfortunately in the condition where the car needs to have the maximum downforce – and we know we don’t have it – we had a multiplied effect on the tyres, above all on the hard, because we were not able to let them work.

“If you think that Fernando was leading for 20 laps more or less, in 46 laps [after that] we were lapped, so we were losing about 3 seconds a lap. So you can understand that it was really difficult to explain from a pure performance point of view.”

Domenicali said that Ferrari simply couldn’t get the hard tyres to work.

“Unfortunately with this kind of condition, with this kind of cars, these tyres were not able to work on our cars. The cars were sliding around, and you’re not putting in temperature. Three seconds is a lot, as you can imagine.

“I have to say this was the worst race we’ve had since the beginning in terms of race pace. Because the last couple of races we were pretty quick, and for sure it’s a shame. But we have seen that things are so changeable. For sure the tyre effect has a big influence.

“We will need to see where we will be the next couple of Grands Prix, because we will have a much softer tyre, and a different configuration of track, and then we will see where we are. Of course fighting for the championship, we know that it is difficult, but we don’t give up.”

Fernando Alonso admits that he and Ferrari were flattered by leading at the start in Spain, and his eventual fifth place was rather more representative of the true form of the car.

Alonso jumped into the lead by the first corner and managed to stay ahead even after the first pit stops. Having lost the lead after his second stop on lap 19 he ended up being lapped by Vettel and Hamilton, having struggled badly on the hard tyres.

“We were missing some good starts this year and it finally came today,” said Alonso of his getaway. “And here with the long straight to Turn One you have the opportunity to take the slipstream as well. Basically we were out of position in a way, we were not quick in the weekend. We did a very good lap yesterday and we were fourth, and maybe it was a strange result, and today on lap one we were first.

“It was not our position so it looks a little bit sad when you start losing positions, but we need to understand that P1 was not our position.

“Fifth is unfortunately what we deserve this weekend, we were not competitive, especially in the race pace we were too slow, with the hard tyre even more. I think the first two cars they lapped until the fifth guy, so there are clearly two teams ahead of everybody at the moment. We need to change the situation. Monaco is so special that anything can happen, but in Canada we have to make a step forward.”

Mark Webber had a frustrating day in Spain as he fell to fourth place after starting from pole.

He eventually finished 47 seconds behind his team mate, having lost the use of KERS at some stage in the race. Webber said he didn’t get a particularly bad start, despite dropping to third place by the first corner.

“I don’t think it was hideous, but it looked like Fernando got a phenomenal one,” said the Aussie. “And then obviously everyone’s in the tow for the run to the first corner. I went down the inside and was a bit compromised, and it helped that Seb was on the outside.

“And then it was just chess really from there, people covering each other off stops. We didn’t really do much racing on track.

“Interesting day today, goes to show how fine the margins are if you’re off a little bit on strategy and you can’t clear people at the right time, then you get exposed. I think at certain stages I was quick, and at other stages I was not so quick. That’s the way it was today.”

Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that the idea of allowing V8s and the new turbos to race alongside each other in 2013 was floated at yesterday’s meeting in Barcelona.

Jean Todt met with engine representatives and FOTA’s Martin Whitmarsh, who had the chance to express their opposition to the rules. Although he still intends to pursue the turbo route the Frenchman acknowledged that one solution might be to allow the V8s a longer lifespan.

“What he is talking now is about letting the V8s run for a year or something,” Ecclestone told Reuters today. “But I mean, equivalency formulas never work, do they?”

Bernie acknowledged that it at least it was a sign of potential flexibility from Todt.

“We’ll have to see now. I don’t know. I hope, I hope, I hope. I think he’s beginning to understand that the manufacturers all realise its going to cost them a lot of money and they can’t hand that on to their customers because the engines are going to be too expensive.

“I think the whole idea of this engine is the wrong way to go. I haven’t changed and I told him yesterday I have not changed my opinion.

“Jean is still believing that he says we should be giving a message. I don’t know what the message is because there is more fuel used in the Tour de France than there is in Formula One.  In my opinion it’s all a bit of window dressing for the wrong reasons.”

Nico Rosberg has been at the sharp end of the field in the last two races only to end up in fifth place in both events after Mercedes couldn’t follow-up on that form.

In Spain the German starts seventh, but insists that the team has put a greater emphasis on its performance over a race distance. Nevertheless, he’s disappointed to be so far back.

“For sure it’s a disappointment, it’s obviously not great,” he said. “In Turkey I was third on the grid, and here seventh, that’s not ideal. But taking a step back, it was to be expected. We changed our approach a little bit and just concentrated more on race pace, so for the race we’re definitely looking better for tomorrow than what we looked like in Turkey, because in Turkey I definitely struggled in the race. So that was no good.

“We’re trying generally to do a better job here, so we’ll see if it works tomorrow, starting a bit further back, hoping we have a better race pace. Then again I’m not sure because the other guys seem to be a little further ahead at the moment, so it will be difficult. In terms of tyres also I’m looking better for example than Ferrari. Not sure about McLaren. So it’s possible.”

Jenson Button says he’s not unhappy with fifth place on the Barcelona grid, despite being bumped down by Fernando Alonso at the end of Q3.

Like his team mate Button has the advantage of starting on the cleaner side of the track.

“Disappointed to be fifth, and a little bit surprised!,” said Button. “It was pretty good, I felt pretty good out there. The car got better and better through qualifying with the softer tyres, and working with the set-up. My lap wasn’t too bad. I was three hundredths behind Lewis, and obviously disappointed not to be third on the grid. But three hundredths was close. I felt the lap was good.

“And then Fernando got in between us as well. It’s so, so close, three hundredths from being third to fifth. I suppose for me the positive is I’m on the clean side of the grid, and that makes a big difference.”

Button said that strategy will be complex on Sunday, but says that he’s in a good position having saved a set of tyres.

“It’s very difficult. Having your tyres in good condition makes such a big difference now, even on in-laps you’re not pushing as hard. So the tyres are a big part of the race. We’re in pretty good shape. On my soft tyres I’ve got two sets that have one timed lap and another set that’s brand new.

“I think Fernando’s used all three of his sets, which is nice. And obviously we have the prime tyre, which is going to be a tricky tyre in the race. It’s a big, big difference from the soft to the hard. You’ll see some different strategies tomorrow.”

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that it’s possible that the Indian GP could be moved from October 30 to December, freeing up the original date for a re-instated Bahrain GP.

December 4 has been suggested as the likely new date for the Delhi race.

“Everything’s possible. We could do, yeah,” Ecclestone told Reuters. “I’m not sure at the moment what I’m going to do. Everything’s up in the air. I haven’t decided about it. We’ll see if we have to go to Bahrain.”

Sources told this blog today that the Indian race could in fact end up on December 11.

The big problem is that having Brazil on Nov 27 and India a week later will be a huge logistical challenge. Traditionally F1 never goes to a new venue on such a schedule because of uncertainties about customs clearance and so on.

Intriguigingly the FIA already has a big splash planned for India in December, having moved its end-of-season activities from Monaco. At the moment a WMSC meeting is scheduled for Dec 6, the Awards Gala for Dec 7, and the General Assembly for Dec 8.

The FIA is looking into Ferrari’s use of  a higher than normal Gurney flap on its rear wing in practice today.

The FIA denies that other teams have complained but have confirmed that Ferrari has come up with its own interpretation of the rules. The higher flap clearly creates extra downforce.

“No teams have complained to me at all,” said Whiting. “We are aware of the development on the Ferrari rear wing of course, and we are currently discussing it with Ferrari.”

Asked whether the wing would be seen on Saturday, Whiting said: “That will depend on what we will decide tonight. It’s a very clever interpretation of the rules, and we’ve got to decide whether we think it’s a good interpretation of the rules. It will be clear tomorrow.”

Whiting explained the issue as follows:

“It’s article 3.10.3, which deals with slot gap separators, the devices which are normally just vertical, two of them typically on each wing, which keep the distance between the profiles constant. The fact that these separators have to totally encircle these profiles, also ensures that the profile remains the same. We had some issue with changing profiles a few years ago.

“These separators can’t be more than 250mm apart. It’s an alternative interpretation shall we say of that rule, that we’re currently discussing.”

Pics can be found here: http://yfrog.com/h03ttfjj