Valentino Rossi 'would have had success in F1 as well', says his GTWC team principal

F1 success could have been a staple for Valentino Rossi had he opted to switch sports, according to Vincent Vosse, Rossi's current team boss at WRT-Audi in the GTWC.

The Italian called time on his 25-year career in motorbike racing in 2021 with countless accolades to his name, most notably nine world titles. In his prime, however, Rossi had come close to leaving two wheels for the four of F1.

He tested for Ferrari on two separate occasions in 2006 and 2008 amidst talks of getting a full-time offer from the Scuderia. 'The Doctor', as he is famously known, also drove the Mercedes W08 in December 2019 in a special event where Lewis Hamilton rode his Yamaha instead.

After making his debut in the GTWC with Audi, Vosse shared his thoughts on what could have been for Valentino Rossi. He said:

“We all know that at a certain stage of his career there was an important decision whether he wanted to enter Formula 1 or not. But he chose motorcycles, which have been his life until now. It was the right decision, and he still achieved a lot after that decision. But I’m sure he would have succeeded in Formula 1 as well, yes.”

Rossi has always maintained that he never regretted the decision to stay on in MotoGP, despite not being able to capture the elusive 10th world title. The Italian's last triumph came in 2009.

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"It was an unforgettable moment" - Valentino Rossi stayed in Enzo Ferrari's office before secret F1 test back in 2006

In an extended interview with Graham Bensinger, Valentino Rossi confirmed he spent the night in the late Enzo Ferrari's office before a secret F1 test back in 2006. Back then, the Italian was already a 6-time world champion with three titles each with Honda and Yamaha.

When asked to shed light on that chapter of his life, Rossi said:

“That was a very good moment in my life. Stefano Domenicali from Ferrari called me and said ‘why don’t we try the car? We have a track in Fiorano, where we try Formula 1. It is a one-minute track but it is interesting... and I said ‘okay, we can organize this. We arrived in secret the day before because we had to try to keep it a secret. But it was not a secret at the end and we stayed in Enzo Ferrari’s office, alone... it was an unforgettable moment.”

F1 has not had the most representation from Italy in terms of successful drivers in recent history. Giancarlo Fisichella remains the last Italian to win a Grand Prix with Renault back in 2006. The last Italian to be crowned world champion was the legendary Alberto Ascari back in 1953.