Rossi is not a distraction, says Brawn

Rossi has joined Ferrari for testing at the Spanish Valencia circuit earlier this month, and world champion Fernando Alonso chided the Maranello-based squad for wasting their time on the motorcycle rider rather than concentrating all their efforts on the upcoming season.

"I'm glad that Rossi has tested with Ferrari because that means they have lost valuable time preparing the cars for the show they put on," the Renault driver said on Thursday.

But Ferrari's Brawn made clear that Rossi's testing did not come at the expense of their pre-season development work and emphasized the value of the testing for the team's morale.

"Valentino's programme has been totally independent," the Briton said at Bahrain. "We put a small group of people together, using mechanics and engineers who were involved in other projects. So we've made sure that it doesn't affect our core Formula One programme.

"But he has been a great motivator for the guys - an Italian motorcycle champion in a Ferrari, it's been very exciting for everyone, and he's been doing a great job.

"After all, we want to enjoy ourselves. This is a very competitive and very intense business. But in the end of the day, you have got to enjoy yourself. If you don't, it's not worth doing."