Ferrari considered giving Rossi full-time Sauber F1 drive
Ex-Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has revealed the Scuderia once considered the idea of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi making his full-time Formula 1 debut with Sauber.
Rossi flirted with an F1 switch through the mid-late 2000s, making his first official F1 outing in 2006 at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia in an F2004 having already completed some private running previously.
The nine-time grand prix world champion seriously considered a switch to F1 in 2006 and had discussions with Ferrari – though ultimately opted against it when its initial offer wasn't to join the main race team straight away.
It was Yamaha's fear that Rossi – who'd won two MotoGP titles for it at the time having joined from Honda in 2004 – would quit to race in F1 that prompted it to sign Jorge Lorenzo for 2008 before he'd even won his first of two 250cc crowns.
Now in an interview with Motorsport.com, di Montezemolo – who served as Ferrari president from 1991 to 2014 – opens up about Ferrari's original ideas for signing Rossi.
"Everyone knows that it was not a publicity operation, Ferrari did not need it," di Montezemolo said. "At the beginning it was almost a courtesy to the desire of a great champion.
"I saw that he was going strong, especially he lacked continuity, but he had a lot of potential and desire.
"At one point we thought he would do a year at Sauber, but he was smart and preferred to remain number one in motorcycles than fourth or fifth in cars."
Rossi ultimately re-signed with Yamaha for 2007 and 2008, extending his stay to 2010 before making an ill-fated switch to Ducati.
The Italian would test a Ferrari F1 car for the final time in 2010 at Barcelona, driving a 2008-spec car on GP2 tyres.
Rossi allegedly did come close to making his F1 race debut in 2009 at the Italian Grand Prix when Felipe Massa was sidelined after suffering a severe head injury in a horror accident during that year's Hungarian GP.
This never came to pass in the end, with Ferrari sticking Giancarlo Fisichella in the car having taken him out of his Force India contract.
Current Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola - who was sporting director at Ferrari during this period - told Motorsport.com in 2019 he thought the suggestions of Rossi making his F1 debut at Monza in 2009 was more for publicity than a serious option.
Rossi last drove an F1 car at the end of 2019 at Valencia as part of a ride swap with seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who rode a MotoGP bike for the first time.
Related video
Previous article
Why F1 driver contracts are fraught with peril
Next article
Ranked: Williams' top 10 Formula 1 cars
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 , MotoGP |
| Drivers | Valentino Rossi |
| Author | Lewis Duncan |
How Brabham’s one-hit wonder was boxed into a corner
The Brabham BT46B raced once, won once, then vanished – or did it? STUART CODLING reveals the story of the car which was never actually banned…
The changes Barcelona needs to provide a modern-day F1 spectacle
Formula 1’s visits to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya over recent years have been met with familiar criticisms despite tweaks here and there to the track to improve racing. With the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix largely going the same way, proper solutions need to be followed to achieve F1’s wider targets
Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings
Often described as Formula 1's laboratory, the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona gave the clearest demonstration yet of the pecking order in 2021. And it's the key discrepancies from that order which illuminate who is excelling, and who needs to hit the reset button.
How Red Bull's deja vu set Hamilton on the winning path in Spain
An aggressive first corner move from Max Verstappen appeared to have set the Red Bull driver on course for victory in the Spanish Grand Prix. But canny strategy from Mercedes - combined with the absence of Red Bull's number two from the lead group - allowed Lewis Hamilton to pull off a demoralising reversal
The Barcelona practice times that prove Red Bull has hidden pace
Lewis Hamilton led the way in Friday practice for the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix, but there was one major encouraging sign for Red Bull. However, making good on that gain will require Max Verstappen to avoid repeating a mistake that left him well down the FP2 order...
Why McLaren doesn’t doubt Ricciardo can escape his ‘dark’ place
Three points finishes from as many starts represents a decent opening innings on paper, but Daniel Ricciardo has endured a tough start to his McLaren career - only magnified his teammate's excellent form. Yet both he and the team have good reason to expect a turnaround soon.
What needs to “change” for Red Bull is ending Verstappen’s errors
OPINION: Going up against the dominant force of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton was always going to demand the best from Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But after making a couple more errors during the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Dutch driver showed there's a small gap he still needs to close in the 2021 Formula 1 title fight.
The "subtle" Red Bull upgrades that kept it in the Portugal F1 mix
Red Bull's Portuguese Grand Prix fortunes were decidedly second best to Mercedes', but the result skews the potential that the team had at Portimao. With a new set of updates, the team looks good going forward into the rest of 2021's spicy F1 competition
