 Valentino Rossi for Ferrari in 07' gains strength.... -
09-04-2005
, 07:15 PM
Looks a "done-deal"! teaming with Kimi and the great Schumacher will
call it a day at the end of 06' [As Murray use to say "subject to
offical confirmation!!"] :
Valentino Rossi is to begin a regular test programme with Ferrari as
the four-times MotoGP champion gears up for a switch to F1 with the
Scuderia.
Rossi - who has already tested twice with Ferrari at their private
circuit, Fiorano - with now undertake a much more serious test
programme, as the rumours that he will switch to four-wheels start
edging ever closer to becoming reality. Now just one race away from
potentially sealing his fifth straight MotoGP crown, the prospects of
the flamboyant Italian rider were being talked up by Scuderia Ferrari's
Ross Brawn at Monza this weekend.
"This winter and next year he'll do a few more serious tests. It's a
kind of open-ended agreement," said Ross Brawn in Monza yesterday when
pressed on the situation with the bike star. "There are some
objectives. He's going to try and have more time next year to devote to
this and I would expect he would be in the car once a month or once
every six weeks," added the Englishman, who while acknowledging that
Rossi has the mental strength and temperament to succeed in F1, is keen
to see if he has the natural speed required.
I think it will be a reasonable programme to have continuity and then
make a proper judgment. One was a nice day out and the last one was a
bit more serious. You can see he's got huge potential. I think there's
a huge potential from a driver point of view and from a commercial
point of view you can imagine the potential it would have as well,"
concluded Brawn.
Asked if Rossi could make as switch to four wheels, and straight into
Formula one, Brawn replied: "I think we need to see how things progress
before we make those sort of predictions or scenarios. I think the
thing that's difficult to give Valentino in the shorter term is
four-wheel racing experience. You can see very clear that he's got the
ability to drive a car quickly. Once he learns all the nuances of
driving a car quickly then he's going to be very fast. I see no reason
why he shouldn't."
"Schumacher will end his career at Ferrari. I think he will stop at the
end of 2006," Formula One commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone told the
influential Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. "And I am ready to bet
that, in 2007, Raikkonen will be in a Ferrari. I would like it if he
were together with Valentino Rossi, but I don't have any information on
that," he added.
Meanwhile Brawn also stoked the recent strong media rumours linking
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen with a switch to Scuderia Ferrari for the 2007
F1 season. "It's a nice ring to the names isn't it, Raikkonen and
Rossi," said Brawn. "Everyone can see Kimi is a fantastic driver, he
would be a catch for Ferrari. I think Michael's got to stop one day and
the two guys you've got to say appeal are Alonso and Raikkonen." The
Finn is currently 24 points behind F1 championship leader Fernando
Alonso and is very much the in-form driver, with only the poor
reliability of his McLaren-Mercedes keeping from being closer to the
top slot.
One story that has captured the imagination of the media is the rumour
that multi motorcycle world champion, Valentino Rossi could drive in F1
for the Scuderia. "It is a simple story," said Montezemolo when
asked to explain. "Valentino is an Italian superstar. He loves cars
and Ferrari and we wanted to give him the chance to drive an F1 car for
enjoyment. Then we thought to say to him that, if he got tired of
winning in motorbikes, why not try to get a new motivation in Formula
1. But there are no guarantees that he will drive in F1 nor that we
will give him a drive. But, if after a few tests he can stand in front
of a mirror and tell himself that he is ready to win, to win not just
to race, then we will see. It is the same as with Michael. It is
Michael who will decide if he stops and if Valentino decides to race
then it is because he feels he is ready to win. It is hypothetical at
the moment, but if Valentino proves capable of winning in F1 then why
not have him drive a Ferrari?"
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