Yep, he was, but we will never know how good he could have been. After testing a Ferrari once (or twice, I can't recall), Rossi went on to say that F1 was more about the engineers and MotoGP about the rider. I think the technical aspect of F1 did put him off. I can sympathise with that. Maybe Rossi was a couple of decades too late to appreciate F1 ? I don't know about the GOAT, but Rossi is still certainly "the dog's bollocks" in MotoGP. As an illustration that stats themselves do some disservice when it comes to comparing drivers/riders of different eras, Rossi is - as far as I know- still trailing Agostini in the number of titles and wins, but to me, and many, his achievement is far superior. Sorry Giacomo !!
He was in fact quite quick in testing, as the observers testified at the time. Bearing in mind that he stepped in a F1 without much grooming in lower categories (F4, F3, GP2, etc...), his times were quite good according to the team. Obviously, it's the few last seconds and tenths that are difficult to capture, and make all the difference, but Rossi certainly didn't disgrace himself.
I respectfully disagree..he's far better then Webber ever was......but i agree with max...he will be the next big thing...and i also think Ocon will be very good...unlike Werlheim
He was very good, Ross felt he had what i takes to win in f.1...but valentino said that it was impossible to work harder and to be more professional then Shumacher was, so he felt given his age it would be impossible to reach Shumachers level, and i understand that for someone used to be the very best, being good is simply not good enough.
Valentino Rossi underlined his growing F1 potential with a further half-second improvement on the third and final day of his latest Ferrari test - held at Valencia, alongside much of the current F1 grid - then confirmed "more tests in the coming months". The Valencia test was Rossi's fourth in a Ferrari Formula One car, but his first with other teams and drivers on track at the same time - after previous private sessions held at Fiorano and Mugello. The F1 paddock's first impression of Rossi on four-wheels was of the Italian spinning out on his opening lap in the wet of day one, but the five-times reigning MotoGP World Champion soon turned that embarrassment around by setting the 9th fastest time (out of 15 drivers) on a dry day two. The Doctor's best Wednesday lap (out of 53) was a 1min 12.851secs - leaving the seven times motorcycling world champion within 1.622secs of fastest man, and reigning F1 world champion, Fernando Alonso of Renault. He was also just over a one second slower than seven times world champion, and Ferrari team leader, Michael Schumacher. Thursday's third and final day then saw Rossi reduce his best lap time to a 1min 12.362secs - again after 53 laps - which was good enough for 12th on the revised driver line-up. Alonso was again fastest, but Rossi was now within 1.5secs of the Spaniard – and, most impressively, just 0.711secs from Schumacher (the full day three times are shown below). However, according to Ferrari, Rossi was indeed driving an "F2004 fitted with a V10 engine limited to reproduce the conditions set out in this year's regulations" which means that his car was significantly different to the V8 powered 2006 spec machines driven by the majority of drivers present. The closest comparison that can be made is with Felipe Massa, Schumacher's 2006 Ferrari team-mate, who was driving an "F2004 fitted with the new (unlimited) V8 engine" on Thursday - in other words, the same car as Rossi but with a 2006 spec 2.4 litre V8 engine instead of a limited 3.0 litre V10. The Brazilian was over one second quicker than Valentino... but Pedro de la Rosa was reportedly driving a McLaren fitted a V10 engine - and Rossi outpaced the experienced Spaniard by 0.095secs, despite several more spins. "It was a very revealing test considering that, for the first time, I found myself on the track with Formula 1 drivers," said Rossi after the test, before joking about his day one downfall: "I have to say that I felt at home and did not have any particular problems: perhaps I have to practise a little in driving in the wet! Now switch. Put Hamilton or Alonso on a bike and see how close they are to Rossi...
Agree. Rider skill has big impact on Motogp race day, whereas F1 has way too much technology. Ban the multilevel front wings and make both the front and rear wing smaller, make the cars thinner , get rid of the Drs. Less aero, more driver!
Ricci is very unfortunate that Max became his teammate because he'll almost certainly be the next real superstar after Schumacher and Senna. It does pain me to say it because Ricciardo is one of my favourite drivers. He's certainly not slow, either. Put him next to Hamilton and he'll definitely put up a tougher fight than Rosberg. It's easy to forget that Verstappen is still only just 18 and only on his 3rd year of actual CAR racing. The way he drives, defends and his awareness it looks like he's been doing this for 10 years. When he gets to his prime I think we'll witness something truly special. Ocon sure looks like he'll handle himself just fine in a single seater, but his DTM results are incredibly disappointing. Entirely different gig, of course. Also surprisingly, only 1 win in GP3, very consistent though.
It is irrelevant how slow Alonso would be on a bike. Fact is that Rossi would not have made it past a midfielder. He is much better off doing what he does best.
You are right he is better than Webber and a super talent but as Bas says in the unfortunate situation to be paired with the next racing god.
You're missing the point. Its completely relevant when discussing a potential GOAT. If you want to change that title to SOAT (successful of all time) then you have more of an argument. You look at guys like Andretti and Clark and Surtees(who i don't think is a GOAT but won in motorcycles and F1) who won in all different disciplines. You take a guy like Rossi, 7 time world champion, put him in an F1 car and as you say he's a "midfielder" with no formal F1 training. You take a guy like Verstappen, Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, etc and stick them on a bike and you think they'll be within 1.5 seconds of Rossi?
I don't think Mark Webber was bad at all. Time will tell if Ricciardo can do better over his whole career. In fact, I like them both; brilliant personalities, no nonsense guys. For me that counts a lot. Judging by these two, I wish there were more Australians in F1.
I couldn't care less about bike racing. And this being the F1 section I don't see the relevance. Otherwise we might as well widen the discussion to include rally racers (the real racers IMHO) but again wrong forum
I also think Rossi is the only current GOAT in racing right now. He also has two things that Hamilton is lacking completely and those are authenticity and charisma. Forza 46!
What I read in motorcycle media, is what Rossi said after the Ferrari tests,. He found that F1 was a different environment, with a lot more technology and mostly managed by engineers. Unlike F1, riding is still a "seat-of-the-pant" feeling, and very rewarding for that only.
Agree but I think you're selling him a little short comparing him to Webber. Ricciardo is damn good but more like a Button to me, but better. Definitely a potential WDC, I mean he beat Seb head to head in his first year at RB when Seb was the golden child at the team coming off 4 straight WDCs. That takes insane talent. BUT he lost to Kvyat last year, which knocks him down pretty big time to me. Max is the next legend in the making. Maybe Ricci will realize his best interests are to move. Would love to see him in a Ferrari.
Vettel was just one of several drivers who didn't adapt straightaway to hybrid power, which requires a different driving approach. Some excel in the energy saving formula with its lift and coast methods, but for others it took time to master it. I think Raikkonen struggled with it as well at first.
