Multiple MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi tested Ferrari’s dominant F-2004 at Fiorano in Italy on Wednesday and switched from the pinnacle of motorcycle racing to F1’s fastest car with ease!
Multiple MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi tested Ferrari’s dominant F-2004 at Fiorano in Italy on Wednesday and switched from the pinnacle of motorcycle racing to F1’s fastest car with ease!
The Italian made an impressive debut, reportedly lapping the track in 59.0 seconds – that’s three seconds off Michael Schumacher’s record, but faster than Ferrari tester Luciano Burti’s mark for the day.
Rossi, who joined Yamaha this season after racing for Honda, won the first MotoGP race of the season in Welkom and made history by becoming the first man to take consecutive victories for different manufacturers. He has previously been linked with other F1 teams for a possible try out but Ferrari’s offer was the one he accepted.
“It was a very exciting day for me,” said Rossi. “Driving an F1 car was an amazing experience and it was great for me to follow in Schumacher’s footsteps for a day. I would like to thank Ferrari for having given me this opportunity.”
Odds must now be shortening on Rossi attempting to emulate John Surtees’s feat of winning the World Championship on four wheels as well as two. Surtees was driving for Ferrari when he won his four-wheeled world title in 1964.
Meanwhile, Ferrari did a shakedown of the cars to be used at the upcoming San Marino Grand Prix, Schumacher and team-mate Rubens Barrichello completing 16 laps between them.
With the F1 circus back in Europe after grands prix in Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain, it’s predicted that Ferrari’s rivals will start to level the competition, something that Schumacher also expects. The Scuderia set very fast times while testing in Europe before Melbourne, but while Schumacher would be pleased to see that gap between Ferrari and other teams, he doubts the Scuderia will dominate at Imola this weekend.
“We shouldn’t be too relaxed,” he said. “Testing took place when it was very cold and this contributed to us setting fast times. I think the other teams have improved a lot since then and so I don’t think that the difference between them and us will be that great.
“Even at Ferrari there is a lot that we can still improve. The European stages begin now and it is from here on that teams develop more consistency. We certainly can’t relax in a period like this,” the German added.
