Rossi makes another F1 hint
Added on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi makes another F1 hint
Valentino Rossi has yet again hinted at a move to Formula One in 2011, claiming that Ferrari would “have to think” of the eight-time world champion if they were to run three cars in the future.
Rossi, who has long had a partnership with the Ferrari F1 team, having tested for the team in the past and being reportedly offered a deal to switch to F1 in 2006.
The Italian opted to stay in MotoGP, signing a new contract with Yamaha and, having signed a two-year extension to that contract in 2008, it seemed that the door to F1was well and truly closed. However, that has not prevented Rossi from trying his hand at four-wheeled racing, having tested again for Ferrari at Mugello earlier this year and taken part in the Wales GB Rally last year.
And after comments made to the Italian press, an F1 appearance appears to be on Rossi’s mind once again although it would require Ferrari to make the decision to run three cars in the championship, a move that is unlikely given the current cost-cutting drive.
“For the time being I have a certainty,” Rossi, whose contract with Yamaha expires at the end of the 2010 season, is quoted by Visordown as having told Italian press. “Next season I will be in MotoGP with Yamaha; in 2011 we will see. I have not decided what I will do after that – I have some options that are more pressing.
“With Ferrari the plan was defined in 2006. I would have become the test driver and then the driver in the races, but then I was not prepared to leave the world that is my life. Over two years I do not know now how things will be – to drive the Ferrari is a dream for anyone.
“I did not want to leave MotoGP after the fall in Valencia that cost me the title. I do not mourn the choice, but my relationship with Stefano Domenicali, the boss of Ferrari in F1, has continued. [If they were to run three cars in 2011], they would have to think of me for the drive.”
