Rossi in Rosso: MotoGP star drives Ferrari F2008 at Mugello
Click either image to see Valentino Rossi driving the Ferrari F2008 at Mugello in high resolution
The Ferrari World Finals at Mugello finished a few weeks ago. But someone appeared to have forgotten to tell the tifosi, as a loyal garrison of the Scuderia's most loyal fans, thousand-strong, came back out last week to the track. After the Challenge series were decided, the 16M Scuderia Spider unveiled, the FXX program ran its laps and the fans celebrated the Formula One constructors' championship, what exactly were they hoping still to see? How about the prospect of seeing an Italian driver piloting an Italian F1 car around one of Italy's most famous tracks? And not just any driver, but Valentino Rossi, a world champion with credentials to rival Schumacher's.
Valentino Rossi is an unassailable legend in motorbike racing, having taken the titles in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc categories in quick succession before moving up to MotoGP and taking the championship five times... so far. Having achieved dominance on two wheels, Rossi has examined the possibility of switching to four. He's competed in several championship rallies, winning the Monza rally in 2006. He initially tested a Ferrari F1 car at Valencia in 2006, where he embarrassed some of F1's most experienced drivers, prompting him to consider a professional switch to Formula One before ultimately deciding to stay in MotoGP. This past week's test session was just for fun then, but Rossi still proved his mettle. He lapped Mugello at 1:22.550 – just a second and a half behind Kimi Raikkonen's time – on his first drive without traction control. Rain interrupted the second day of testing, but while Rossi showed promise, he admits he'd be too old to start in Formula One at this point. Shame for F1 fans, but reassuring for MotoGP aficionados. Check out the gallery of high-resolution images from Rossi's test by clicking the thumbnails below.
[Source: Ferrari]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
timmer 8:22PM (11/29/2008)
So he's pretty much untouchable on two wheels, and not far behind that with four wheels. Must be tough!
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K.C. 10:19PM (11/29/2008)
He's completely defeat-able on two wheels, KC Stoner did it and others will. Much like F1, Moto GP is a racing series with many great drivers where the defining advantage is the technology and budget of the team.
nighttime__ 10:55PM (11/29/2008)
@ K.C.
and they ALL took their sweet time catching up to him.
timmer 11:20PM (11/29/2008)
KC
Remember when Vale moved from Honda to Yamaha? Honda was building THE BEST bikes in Moto GP, why would Vale move to Yamaha who was in a downward spiral? He wanted to prove that you can win on an inferior bike if you are a great rider. Didn't take him long to do that.
Nick 3:40PM (11/30/2008)
Like it or not Nicky beat him also.
pmiddle5 8:23PM (11/29/2008)
How old is Mr Rossi these days? People act like you have to be 20 to start in F1. It use to be (10 years ago!) somewhat common for people to start near 30. There have been world champions over 40! Why do we act like you have to be just getting pubes to be successful in racing?
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Mobius_1 8:49PM (11/29/2008)
Hamilton did pretty well, wouldn't you say?
(In truth, I dunno why either, since "slightly" older drivers still no doubt have sufficient stamina and strength to take the G-Forces for a couple of hours)
pmiddle5 9:24PM (11/29/2008)
I bet if Hamilton had taken on a year of F1 testing while competing another year in GP2, first year out would have had the championship.
EEL 6:57PM (12/01/2008)
@ pmiddle5,
Hamilton lost the '07 Drivers' Championship his rookie year by 1 point.
He won the '08 Drivers' Championship by 1 point.
What point are you trying to make with your comment?
pmiddle5 2:31PM (11/30/2008)
....are you serious?
My comment is you dont have to be young to start in F1. Thats it. Wow
Metar 7:03AM (11/30/2008)
I dunno if he's too old. A highly-trained MotoGP driver is surely fit enough to withstand the forces, and a rider as experienced as Rossi should have no trouble adapting to a Formula 1 car.
Loeb and Rossi seem like the two guys, at the moment, who could've been "the big thing" in F1 had they chosen that path. And who knows - Loeb said he'll quit rallying if they adopt Super2000 regulations, and might try F1..
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slu1979 7:11AM (11/30/2008)
@ K.C.
He's pretty much undefeatable on 2 wheels once he has the tools. His bike this year was still slower than the Honda and the Ducati, but that did not prevent him from handing out some whoop ass. Stoner won last year because he clearly had the fastest bike. Give Rossi the fastest bike on the track and lets see what happens. Even after all those pole positions Stoner took, Rossi still whooped his ass.
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Evotec 9:28AM (11/30/2008)
I agree with you "slu1979"... i think hes the best rider at the moment.
Ian 12:55PM (11/30/2008)
Rossi decided against a switch to F1 because the then current F1 cars were fast, but rather "boring", compared to MotoGP bikes. All the F1 driver aids meant driver skill was less valuable in F1 than rider skill in MotoGP. There is no doubt that Rossi could have become and likely could still, if he bothered, become a relly TOP F1 driver. He'sne of those few whose skills onm bikes and cars are near magic.
John Surtees heads the list as most veresatile as Champ of F1 and GP bikes.
Most people forget that Damon Hill was a really good bike racer b4 he entered F1.
Mike Hailwood was a great on bikes and very good in OW.
BillIvy showed terrific F1 form b4 he was sadly killed B4 his OW serious racing began.
Oh and Graham Hill got his drivers license at 22 years of age!!! Then he got 2 WDCs so what was that about starting age?
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Metar 2:55PM (11/30/2008)
Graham Hill raced at a time when being young and reckless was a risk, and would've killed you. In the '60s, forces involved were much lower - cars were without any downforce (actually, they even generated lift!), less powerful, and had worse tyres. They cornered, accelerated and braked slower, and it placed much less fatigue on a driver than today's cars, which corner and brake at 5g.
At the time, older drivers were also more experienced - Graham Hill may have started at an old age, but so did many of his peers. These days, the top drivers start at a young age (8-10 years for many, Alonso even started at 3 years old!), train hard, and are top athletes on top of being fast drivers.
pmiddle5 8:31PM (11/30/2008)
But I still argue you dont need to be young to start. The reason these "youngins" are kicking ass is not because they are more physically fit then older people but because they have a ton of experience.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando each had over a decade of racing experience before winning the title. Same thing applies to Nigel Mansell though but his first real racing experience was at 22. Age is not the factor. Determination, experience, and skill ARE
Ian 9:35PM (11/30/2008)
2008 WSB Champion Troy Bayliss would argue that in one of the most physically demanding of sports age was not a factor.
EJ25RUN 1:53PM (11/30/2008)
Rossi is the best motorcycle racer in the world. I have been watching the sport for 8 years now and noone has come near his level. Rossi admits that Stoner is the closest rival he ever had but even Gibernau was able to fight Rossi better. That is when Rossi wasn't as good as he is now. 2007 was the year Rossi had to struggle on Michelin tires so he made the switch to Bridgestones for 2008. He is able to adjust himself and his bike to any condition and can win on every track. It is correct in saying Rossi is the #1 reason the M1 can fight for victory. It is slower than the Honda and a lot slower than the Duc on the straight. I expect more of the same next year. I suggest everyone head to either Laguna or Indy for the GPs because Rossi is the Senna of two wheels.
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pmiddle5 8:34PM (11/30/2008)
Except that he is not ruthless but simply amazing. I respect Rossi on the track much more then I Senna.
tom 2:12AM (12/01/2008)
This is beyond awesome. Even the car is #46. Rossi is great. It was fun watching him ride the crap out of his ya-MA-ha in person at the Indianapolis MotoGP race this year. Go Rossi!
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