In a not too surprising move, Felipe Massa has dismissed the suggestion that drivers, as part of Formula One's drive to cut costs, should be prepared to take a cut in pay.

With teams looking to reduce their budgets by as much as a third in 2008, a move that will inevitably lead to redundancies, especially in terms of test teams, it has been suggested that driver salaries might need to be cut, with Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali among the first to raise the proposal.

However, speaking at a UNICEF press conference in Brazil, 2008 World Championship runner-up Felipe Massa admitted that he was none too keen on the idea.

"I'm not inclined to it," he said. "In a competitive sport like this, the driver plays a fundamental part, and the cost of the drivers is small compared to the total budget of the teams.

"The more people work to reduce costs, the better it is going to be for everybody," he added.

In other news... there was widespread surprise today following reports in the Italian media claiming that Pope Benedict XVI is a Roman Catholic.

Meanwhile, one of the universe's great mysteries appeared to have been solved earlier today when in British Columbia a young man spotted a brown bear defecating in a small wooded area.