12/01/2006
NEWS STORY
As the speculation regarding his own career continues, Michael Schumacher has admitted that one of the men who could play a future role at Ferrari is MotoGP sensation, Valentino Rossi.
Speaking at Madonna di Campiglio this morning, the German said: "I think he could become a Formula One driver.
"He seemed to go pretty well in the tests he has been doing with us," he continued, "but then there is always the question mark: can you do the last little bit and that's always something you have to find out yourself after more experience in the car, and I'm not sure he wants to do this or not.
"I think it's up to him to decide," he continued, "and I'm pretty sure if he wanted to decide on Formula One, he would have his options to come to Formula One. I believe Ferrari would be happy to support him but then I guess it is in his hands if he wants it or not."
Asked how he thinks Rossi might compare to some of the 'established' drivers, Schumacher said: "First of all, I think he has some experience in go-karts, but nevertheless, I think as a race driver, you have this sensitivity, whether it's on two wheels or four wheels.
"Myself, I made the experience to go from four wheels to two wheels and that was pretty tough," he admitted. "I could pretty clearly imagine that I could not do what he is doing but on the other side, if you go from two wheels to four wheels, and we've seen this in the past, it has worked out and it needs somebody with a lot of talent and you can certainly say that Valentino has a lot of talent.
"In the tests that he was doing, he was consistently improving himself but he himself knows, in his sport, to do this last little bit, to be very competitive against everybody, that's the most difficult part and nobody knows if he can be or he can. That's something he will have to try and find out, but then, as I said before, it's up to him if he wants to do this or not."