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Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi came together to discuss motor-racing stories on Sky Sports F1’s special YouTube exclusive. The two legends discussed their tryst with each other's form of racing and the similarities between their worlds.
Speaking to Rossi about the beginning of his career and his liking for bikes, Lewis Hamilton said:
“I’ve been watching MotoGP for a long long time because actually I wanted to race bikes. I actually wanted to race Motocross bikes as a kid. I was watching Formula 1 on the weekends but I always loved bikes. And my dad would never let me get a bike."
"But there were other drivers who had bikes on the weekends. So when I was not out on track, i was at the back on the field, riding those MotoCross bikes. I think it was a PW80 or something like that, and my dad never let me have one."
"So I was like one day If I make some money, I am going to get a MotoCross bike. But I never dreamed that I would get on to a track riding these bikes (MotoGP).. To do what you do, its phenomenal.”
The Briton revealed his love for bikes and his childhood memories of them while he was karting. Aspiring to be a MotoCross rider, Lewis Hamilton mentioned his father Anthony Hamilton denying him the opportunity to ride one.
Similarly, Rossi narrated his contrasting story with go-karts, and how his father was denying him from riding or racing any bikes. Despite the Italian’s father Graziano Rossi being a rider himself, he equally feared safety on bikes like Anthony.
Narrating his story of motor-racing and bikes that were different from Lewis Hamilton, Rossi said:
“Its very interesting because my story is little bit the opposite. I start with the go-kart, because my father raced with a motorcycle until ’82, and after that he stopped with motorcycle and he started with cars. So when I was growing up I always followed Graziano with the cars, and I start with the go-kart."
"In Italy we use to race in Parma. Three days ago we go to train with go-kart in 100km south from Tavullia .. a place where you raced. Corridonia.. and they say to me you were in the team with Rosberg. You raced there and that time you raced for an Italian go-kart factory and you come to Corridonia to make the test and you make the test in that track with Rosberg. So it was interesting."
"Anyway I raced with the kart for three four years and after in Italy, arrived the mini bikes. I pushed a lot with my father. But also because in Graziano want to say with car yes but not with motorcycle. Because Graziano had a lot of crash a lot of injury in his career, so he was scared like your father."
"But arrived mini bikes.. pocket bike which came from Japan in 89. In Christmas of 89 i had the first mini bike. So I also started with mini bike and at the end I raced with motorcycles fortunately, I say. Because with go kart I was not so bad I am better with the bikes.”
Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi outline the similarities between driving and riding
While both conceded that their worlds were different, the Italian and Briton agreed that the biggest similarity between motorsport and bike sport was the feeling of adrenaline and the internal feeling behind chasing lap times.
Outlining the similarities and dissimilarities between the two worlds, Lewis Hamilton said:
“I think they are similar but quite different, the technique is obviously different. The lines are, from a driver perspective, seeing the lines is similar but the lines are different the trajectories are different for you as they are to me, braking points are different. But the feel is very very similar in the sense of chasing the time, trying to improve the small increments you make. But also the car is much bigger.”
Narrating his own experience in an F1 car, Rossi compared it to bikes saying:
“For me when I tried the Formula 1 (car), it is exactly the same feeling. From 0-100 Formula 1 is the same as MotoGP. But the feeling you have when the bike and the car accelerate is the same. But the difference is that with the car you can go a lot lot faster in the corners."
"So with the car it is more difficult to manage the speed because you are a lot faster in the corners. With the bike you have a lot to manage like the positions and the lack of grip because the tyre is smaller etc. But the feeling is similar.”
Rossi tested an F1 car for the first time in 2004 and was at the Fiorano circuit in the Ferrari HQ in Maranello, wearing Michael Schumacher’s spare helmet. Since then, the Italian has driven an F1 car in 2006. 2007 and 2010 and he’s been a part of the Ferrari family.
The Italian has also dabbled with the idea of making an F1 debut in the past. The two legends had also swapped their rides in the 2019 event at Valencia, Spain. Lewis Hamilton also tested Rossi's MotoGP bike in 2016, a test offered by the Italian.
