Ferrari reveals that following the discovery of a "small fault", Sebastian Vettel will have a new chassis for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

The German has had a torrid start to his final season with the Italian, his outings in the two Silverstone events particularly disappointing and inexplicable.

In both instances, while the four-time champion struggled, teammate, Charles Leclerc, despite the obvious weaknesses of the SF1000, gave impressive performances, claiming a podium in the British Grand Prix and fourth a week later.

With Vettel unable to pinpoint his issues with the car, together with hints from the German that the Italian team may have an agenda, there has been talk of the two parting company before very much longer.

Speaking after last weekend's race, where, following a first lap spin, the German subsequently questioned the team's strategy, Vettel admitted that he had "run out of answers" in terms of his uninspiring performance, leading to Mattia Binotto suggesting that a new chassis might be made available.

Ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, in a bid to help the German, Ferrari has announced that he will indeed have a new chassis, though the team makes clear that a fault found in his old car was unlikely to have been compromising performance.

"There will be no particular updates on the SF1000," said Simone Resta, Head of Chassis Engineering, "however Sebastian will have a new chassis.

"Because after the Silverstone post-race analysis, we spotted a small fault caused by a heavy impact over a kerb," he added. "It would not have had much of an effect on performance, but it was the logical decision to take."

"Barcelona is quite different to Silverstone," said the German, "and I am curious to find out how the car will feel here.

"We can expect very high temperatures and so it will be important to find a set-up that allows you to have good speed without causing excessive tyre wear."

Check out our Thursday gallery from Barcelona, here.