24/09/2005
NEWS STORY
Having previously 'revealed' that Valentino Rossi would take part in regular (monthly) tests for Ferrari, a claim firmly denied by the Italian MotoGP star, Ross Brawn attempted to clarify the situation in Brazil.
"Obviously he is the final arbitrator of what he does," said the Englishman at Interlagos on Friday. "I don't determine what he does.
"I probably got ahead of myself because I was asked how do you go about turning Valentino Rossi into a Grand Prix driver," he continued, "and to me that is how you would do it, that would be the programme to follow if Valentino wants to go Grand Prix racing. But he has indicated he has not made that decision yet, so I think we need to wait and see what he wants to do. But if he does want to do it I think I outlined how would be the best way to approach it in my view. That decision is still to be made. Obviously he is I the middle of a championship and is committed to race next year in MotoGP, so we will wait and see."
Asked to clarify that - as has been reported - their is a commitment (contract) between Rossi and the Maranello outfit, Brawn said: "I would hope that if Valentino wanted to get into Formula One he would do it with Ferrari, because it is a nice combination.
"He has done two tests for us now," he continued, "and he got on very well with our people and our guys found it very exciting to have him there, so naturally it is very attractive but I think he will look at all his options and make his decision when he has to make it.
"As our president said, nobody is holding a gun to his head," said the Englishman, referring to Luca di Montezemolo's comments. "He has to make the decisions he feels are right for him. We would certainly be interested in working with him in the future but that is something that will have to wait and see. As regards the rest of the year, I don't think anything is committed, he wants to get his championship out of the way and decide what he is going to do."