AUGUST 4, 2005

Valentino Rossi continues to flirt with Ferrari

Valentino Rossi is a very promotable young man. At 26 he is top of the world in motorcycle racing, having won four consecutive 500cc/MotoGP titles. He is leading this year's championship in dominant fashion and has just signed to ride for Yamaha again in 2006.

Rossi tested a Ferrari F1 car in April 2004 but played down any F1 ambitions. However a second test this week has added fuel to the rumours that Rossi wants to become a Grand Prix driver in the future. Rossi completed two days of running at Fiorano but did only 80 laps. His lap times were not that impressive but that is not surprising given the fact that he has no experience in racing and has a lot to learn.

It is a bit of a stretch to imagine that Rossi will be drafted in as a Ferrari F1 driver to replace Michael Schumacher in 2007 but there is certainly no harm in the team giving him lessons if it has spare testing capacity available. Rossi obviously has extraordinary talents on a motorcycle and often such skills translate from bikes to cars although at the moment it would astonishing if the tests were anything more than meets the eye.