27/09/2005
NEWS STORY
Despite rubbishing Ross Brawn's claims that he would be regularly testing for Ferrari in 2006, ahead of a possible switch to four-wheels in 2007, Valentino Rossi has admitted that should be make the move to F1, Ferrari would be the "ultimate challenge".
"For sure it is the ultimate challenge for me - a crazy challenge." says Rossi in an interview with Donald McRae for The Guardian. "Maybe," he said of the switch to F1, and Ferrari, "but I have to decide what is best.
"I have won on Honda and Yamaha so maybe it is interesting to win with a third team, Ducati, who are Italian," he adds. "But I could also start F1 or rallying. I love rallying much more."
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has made no secret of his desire to see the flamboyant MotoGP superstar in F1, and the Italian admits that the pitlane would do with some characters.
"It is boring," he says of the 'pinnacle of motorsport, "none of the drivers are interesting."
"Raikkonen is not so bad," he says of the talent in F1. "Kimi sounded very boring in interviews but when I heard he goes to lap-dancing clubs I think, ah, maybe he is more interesting than the others."
Referring to his previous tests with the Maranello outfit, reveals: "When I got ready to drive a formula one car for the first time in my life I hear the Ferrari engineers having bets about me. They say if you lap their track at Fiorano in 60 seconds it means you drive the Ferrari quite fast. If you are slower you are not an F1 racer. Most of the engineers bet money I never go under a minute. I keep on smiling but, inside, I want to show them.
"I don't like it," he says of the first time he sat in an F1 cockpi. "On my bike I feel free. I have a relationship with the bike. But a formula one car feels like a cage where you cannot move. It is not natural. So I spin the Ferrari twice in my first three laps. Then I stall it. Then one engineer, he say, 'Look, to work, this car has to be driven fast. Understand?' But everything is strange. Even the braking is scary because of the downforce. The engineers show me that (Michael) Schumacher uses twice the force in his leg as me when he brakes. And the faster he drives the more stable the car. But I am so slow the car won't go straight. The tyres can't even reach the right temperature.
"I go out again late that afternoon," he continues. "It is after five and the track is getting dark. I like this. When I am not racing I am light and sunny. But on the track I am dark and aggressive. The Ferrari and me go faster and faster. Then comes my last lap - 59.1 seconds. A lot of people lost their money."