Ferrari insider says Brawn spotted at Maranello

Specialist Ferrari journalist and author Leo Turrini on Tuesday reports that Ross Brawn has this week been at Maranello and Fiorano.

Turrini, who according to F1 colleague Mathias Brunner "knows everything when it comes to Ferrari" and recently predicted Stefano Domenicali’s departure, said the recently-retired former Mercedes boss was seen at the fabled Italian team’s headquarters and test circuit.

Brawn, 59, has played down the prospects of a return to formula one, but many insiders believe the F1 paddock has not seen the last of the highly-rated Briton.

As technical director, he was a key player at Ferrari during the highly-successful Michael Schumacher era, spanning multiple years and titles.

Turrini joked on his Quotidiano blog that Brawn may just be in the Italian region to "buy bananas" or "buy a Ferrari", but there is another obvious hypothesis.

"Marco Mattiacci is a very intelligent person," he wrote, "and perhaps also very persuasive."