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MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi has revealed that he almost chose a career in F1. The Italian rider tried out for Ferrari in 2006, driving on the team's test circuit in Fiorano.
Valentino Rossi is a nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion, having won with both Honda and Yamaha. Nicknamed 'The Doctor', the Italian is the most successful athlete in MotoGP.
In an interview with Graham Bensinger, the 42-year-old spoke about his love for F1 and Ferrari. He received a personal call from the current CEO of the Formula One group, Stefano Domenicali, who was then Ferrari's team principal. Domenicali convinced his fellow Italian to try his luck in F1 with a test drive on the team's development and practice circuit in Fiorano. Rossi said:
“Stefano Domenicali from Ferrari called me and said, ‘Why don’t you try the car? We have a track in Fiorano, where they drive the F1 cars. It’s fast, there’s a hairpin and everything.’ I said okay and we organized this and I arrived in secret the day before. I stayed in Enzo Ferrari’s office. It was unforgettable.”
Ferrari's plan for Rossi was for him to join a smaller team at first. If the Italian showed enough pace and talent, he'd then be promoted to the main team. Valentino Rossi claimed he received a lot of pressure from his friends and family when he decided to continue with MotoGP rather than try and apply his skills to the world of single-seater racing. He said:
“It was not easy. I also had a lot of pressure from the inside. ‘Go with the car, go with Ferrari.’ Everybody in the world said. ‘No, no, you have to go for Formula One and Ferrari.’ Also my mother, for example. I think I had to decide for myself and in my heart, I have to stay with MotoGP.”
Rossi has a staggering 89 wins and 199 podiums in a sporting career that lasted more than 20 years.
F1's Lewis Hamilton praised Valentino Rossi in 2021
Lewis Hamilton praised Valentino Rossi upon hearing news of the Italian's retirement from MotoGP in 2021. In a press conference ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, the Briton called Rossi "incredible," expressing admiration for his fellow motorsports legend. He said:
“It’s obviously sad to see him stopping, but I think his drive, his approach, just everything he’s done has been incredible. The passion he’s had for so long has shone through, he’s just such a legend, one of the greatest to ever do it, if not the greatest to have done it. It’ll just be sad not to be watching the races and seeing him ride in style as he usually does, but I think it’s a beautiful time for him also because he’s got a family now that he’s starting to build.”
Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi swapped rides in 2019, with the Briton sampling that year's Yamaha MotoGP bike and Rossi tackling the 2017 Mercedes F1 car. Both legends discussed the various intricacies of operating opposite machinery but shared a common passion for fast machines, which is admired by thousands even today.
