Pete, Read for yourself what Rossi has to say about this: http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view.asp?cid=6&nid=118928 You might be surprised.
These comments prove my opinion that he should not make the switch: They don't go straight to F1 because you need to learn the craft first, not JUST because they do not have the opportunity. If he really thinks F1 is that easy then he is in for a fncken rude shock. Also it is simply NOT going to happen anyway: I think this is far more likely: Still he might ... who knows. He's definitely is not stupid ... and thankfully we already know he is 100% racer. Pete
err, yeah... !! But I still rate any decent bike rider over a good car driver in a switch from one type to another. If you've got balance and race craft, you've got it. Rossi would make mistakes for sure, but he'd be more than good enough... and better and more interesting than Sato.
No doubt Rossi is one of THE greats of motorcycle racing and an entertainer to boot. If after two days of dedicated testing at Calder with a top team, if I lapped within 3 secs of the lead drivers time, would you, all personal jokes aside, be recommending a WELL PAID seat on the team for me? I realiseI amtalking completely out of my @rse on this subject, but I just can't believe, publicity and sponsorship opportunites aside, that they are serious about Rossi.
The way to test a driver is not over one lap, but over a race distance. if, after 50 laps of a 1'30" track, you were within 1'29" of the teams lead driver over the same distance... that's good enough to do a GP. Realistsic test for all the club racers... Put a pro in your car. Get him to do 10 timed flying laps, but time him (without telling him) from pit exit on his out lap to pit entry on his in lap. Now go and do the same... if you can get it done within 2% of his total time, you're good. So, if Rossi can do 50 laps at Firoano within about 50 sec of Schuey's time... he's good enough to score podiums. If he can do it within 100 sec, he'll score points.
Aren't we talking about someone who, although brilliant on bikes, has done SFA with 4 wheels? What lap time would MS have done with THAT car with THAT setup? When he set the record, for sure everything would have been optimal for doing just that. You're comparing poor old inexperienced Rossi in a car that must be as difficult to drive fast as anything there is with someone who is possibly the best driver ever.
Phil, exactly! Stephen, they run a F1 team. I don't think Ferrari is anything except serious about picking their drivers. Its their business to know things we don't. What we really need is someone who was on the ground during the testing to comment. The rest is just creative writing. If we plunked you down into an F1 car for the first time and you came 2.5 secs off the best driver of the last decade after several days testing, you would have a future. Sunny
Peter Rossi has been involved in tarmac and road race for the past few years. Further this was not by any stretch his first time in an F1 car. It was his second test session, not withstanding other promotional drives he has done in the past. This in itself went for TWO full days, so don't belive for a minute that this was a haphazard affair. The car would have been pre-prepared with the known settings established for Fiorano, then fine tuned to suit his style. It's not as if they threw the keys to him in the car park and said, go out and do a few laps. Rossi is the highest paid sportsman in Italy form what I understand, without his European fan base, Ferrari wouldn't even talk to him, much less consider him for a ride IMO. Maybe Rossi can make the transition with enough practice, but how many drivers could, given the opportunity being afforded to him. 3 secs off the pace is NOT a great time on a 50 sec lap, it's not even average IMO. Look at the publicity and interest they've managed to generate already! Right now Ferrari must be looking to appease a whole lot of disappointed fans, with the abysmal performance of the team this year. I'll shut up now as I'm just repeating myself.
And proved himself completely lousey at it! Sorry Rossi is just having some fun and so are Ferrari. This is not serious and if Ferrari really do choose their drivers this way then no wonder we see no racing in F1 anymore. While I am sure Rossi is 100% a racer, if he is too slow (as he is proving) then he will not be able to use any of that racer instinct ... and I'm sorry if I was a team manager I would ONLY hire Rossi after a season in F3 or F3000 to see whether he really can make the transition. The quotes I quoted from Rossi prove to me that he is just having a play and not serious. His comments about why drivers start in lower formula instead of just jumping in to a F1 car shows he really does not understand F1 at all. After all HE did NOT start racing GP (500cc and then MotoGP) bikes did he ... he learned his craft like everybody else starting in 125s and then 250s, etc. That learning phase is critical to being able to RACE and not just lap (like many current F1 drivers). Pete
Didn't Mick Doohan go straight to GP bikes and skip 125 and 250? He was sort of an Ok rider! What's wrong with you guys? OK...so Rossi is 3 seconds off the best time MS ever did. What would MS have done in that car on that day under those conditions? None of you know...you're just guessing. Maybe a lower rev limit? Maybe the new "last a whole day" tyres? You may be right...you may be wrong. Wish i knew..only time will tell.
Really!! ... did not know that. Was it raining? ... no, thus there is no way MS would have been that slow. MS destroyed lap records in his first ever test in a F1 car ... that is the sort of driver we want in the Ferrari team. Not a driver that needs a whole year going round and round to finally get close. MS is old news and on the outer ... we need somebody to really show him that!, and there ARE young drivers out there that need a try ... lets not waste a seat on Rossi just because we all like the guy. Pete
Peter Your post is very misleadng, Mick did not "skip" 125 and 250's. He was racing 250 production in Australia, along with Superbike etc. He didn't just land a seat on a 500.
So who exactly is that going to be then? You need two drivers. Alonso or Kimi will be difficult to get. Montoya is probably the most polarizing driver in F1, maybe not the best choice to lead a team. Fisi is a second tier driver with a great car. Rubens will be driving at Honda. Button will be driving around in sixth and trash talking about how is the best even though he hasn't won a race. Massa? Puleeze. When he is teamed with Michael next year you will see how good (or mediocre) he really is. We will see how he drives under pressure. So let's say it happens, Rossi quits bikes and joins the F1 circus with Ferrari. He can handle the fame and pressure. He already know most of the tracks. He obviously has the racer's instincts. He is fearless. Will he be the #1 driver? Probably not at first. But if he develops his talent, within a year he will be putting pressure on the #1 for sure. My personal hope is that Schumacher stays on for 2007, teaches him the ropes, then bows out with Rossi as his protege heir apparent. In short, all tifosi wuld love to see another Michael Schumacher dominate F1 for Ferrari, but actually finding and acquiring that driver is another matter altogether.
Why are you only looking at current F1 drivers and Rossi? There are hundreds of young guys thrashing F3 and F3000 cars, etc. ... I say lets look there! I agree with your Massa comments ... btw. Pete
1st question, testing for which team? 2nd question, what tracks and times? Considering that if they were Ferrari times given their previous F1 record, well those records might not have been very strong on paper or in reality. 3rd question, how well did MS do for his other team before he came to Ferrari? Last question, why doesn't anyone draw a parallel to the OLD (that is, YOUNG) Schumacher and Rossi? Show me Schumacher's very first tests in an F1 car after several days compared to any current lap record or sit down and.. you know the rest. Just stirring it up a 'lil. Sunny
Jordan Silverstone I believe. Very first race he out qualified his team mate and stuck the Jordan 7th (or 5th) of the grid. He was so quick that Benetton stole him from Jordan ... He then has destroyed every team mate he has had until he got to Ferrari and ensured every team mate from then on sncked. There is absolutely NO comparison. If Rossi was not Rossi, he would have been shown the door by Ferrari months ago. He is simply TOO slow. On about his 3rd lap in the Jordan he had the team so excited that they went looking for his short cut ... they even went and watched him at different corners and were dumb struck!!!! He was most definitely NOT 3 (miles) seconds off the pace after many weeks in the same car. Rossi has NO serious F1 future ... infact I have as much chance . Pete
