Hamilton/Rossi ride swap locked in for December
The long-anticipated machinery swap between Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi has been locked in for December 9 at Valencia, Motorsport.com has learned.
The idea has been in the works for several years, Monster – a major backer of both the Yamaha MotoGP team and Mercedes Formula 1 outfit – pushing to get Hamilton on a GP-spec M1 and Rossi in Hamilton's F1 car.
Barring any last-minute personal schedule changes, the sensational swap will now finally go ahead at Valencia a week after the F1 season closes out in Abu Dhabi.
The swap will be Hamilton's first time on a MotoGP bike, although he has done plenty of private track miles on two-wheels.
Late last year he even spent a day at Jerez on a Yamaha R1 M Superbike, with help from factory riders Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes.
Rossi, on the other hand, has significant open-wheeler experience. The Doctor tested for Ferrari a number of times in the past, with a permanent switch to four wheels with the Scuderia even considered.
He is also set to race a Ferrari 488 GT3 at the Gulf 12 Hours at the Yas Marina circuit on the Saturday after the Monster swap.
Valentino Rossi tests the Ferrari F2008
Photo by: Ferrari Media Center
Marko: Red Bull has reason to believe in 2020 title challenge
F1/NASCAR Texas clash "asinine", says Tony Stewart
Aston Martin: CFD data shows rear wing does not hurt F1 rules intent
Aston Martin says simulation data it gave to the FIA proved that its radical rear wing idea did not scupper the intent of Formula 1's 2023 rules to improve racing.
Zhou opens up on abuse ahead of F1 debut: "It hurt quite a bit"
Zhou Guanyu was "quite surprised" by the level of abuse he faced online prior to his Formula 1 debut with Alfa Romeo, saying it "hurt quite a bit."
F1 cannot risk "NFL situation" by not acting on porpoising - Wolff
Toto Wolff believes the FIA cannot risk having an "NFL situation" by ignoring the potential safety issues with porpoising and impact it has on Formula 1 drivers.
Shwartzman “excited” for Ferrari FP1 chances after F1 summer break
Robert Shwartzman says he is “a bit excited” for his Formula 1 race weekend debut with Ferrari later this season when he takes part in two practice sessions.
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time F1 champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24. And now it’s happening again at his current team
Why few would blame Leclerc if he leaves Ferrari in future
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior.
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbon fibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? Pat Symonds considers the alternatives to carbon fibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting
The traits that fuelled Alonso's unexpected Aston Martin F1 move
Fernando Alonso’s bombshell switch to Aston Martin sent shockwaves through Formula 1, not least at Alpine that finds itself tangled in a contract standoff with Oscar Piastri. Not shy of a bold career move and with a CV punctuated by them, there were numerous hints that trouble was brewing.
The elements Ferrari must resolve to first save face, then win championships
OPINION: Ferrari's Formula 1 title hopes look all but over after another strategic blunder in last week's Hungarian Grand Prix denied Charles Leclerc the chance to fight for victory, while handing it to chief rival Max Verstappen. The Scuderia now faces intense scrutiny over what it must now do to finally become a genuine factor in championship battles