Valentino Rossi i Ferrari: els tests reals i el salt a l’F1 que va rebutjar

The battery operates with a regulatory limit, so the single-seaters lose top speed because the electric motor doesn't help. Oh, it's true that from time to time it's not bad to disconnect from the noise around us, because it helps avoid some headaches and especially to take care of your hearing. These are earplugs made for everyday use with different isolation settings, whether you prefer deafening silence, simply protection from loud noise, or to converse with the person next to you while filtering out the noise around you. It's ideal for going to the races. With engage you can talk to your friends and other fans. With Experience you are protected at the time of departure and with Quiet you rest on the return journey. So, if you want to get your hands on one of their many models, you can find more information in the link in the description. April 21, 2004. At its Fioro circuit, Ferrari hosts its 17th day of private testing. Michael Schumacher and test driver Luca Badoer take to the

track and test the F2004, the single-seater that would end up winning that season. But at a certain point another pilot appears. It doesn't look like it because he's wearing a spare Michael Schumacher helmet. But he wasn't the Kaiser. He was someone who even slept in the garage so as not to arouse suspicion, although the secret would not last long. While the mechanics were betting on whether he would be able to lap under a minute, that driver ended up scoring a 591 on his first visit to the temple of the prancing horse. That rider was none other than Valentino Rossi. Today I'm not going to talk much about motorcycling, mainly because since Bon's ex left I don't follow the categories, so don't worry. But it's not even necessary in this story because this is a true story of when one of the great legends of the two- wheeled world almost switched to Formula 1, the story of when Valentino Rossi could have signed for the Ferrari team. Today it's easy to imagine

Rossi racing on four wheels because he is racing on four wheels. Since 2022, the Italian has practically started a second career in the world of motor racing, driving GTs and competing in endurance championships. But for this story, we have to look back two decades to the height of his motorcycle career. In 2004, Rossy had just made perhaps the bravest move of his career, leaving Onda after winning three consecutive titles in the premier class to go to a Yamaha that had been struggling for years . On April 18th in Welcom he won his first race with the tuning fork brand and three days after that feat Fiorano was in a Formula 1 car. That test was arranged by a call from Stefano Dominicali and was set up with all the secrecy in the world, which in the end was not secret at all because there ended up to four high school classes watching the test from some of the fences. But anyway, the point is that there was all this secrecy,

because this test wasn't just a mere exhibition , it wasn't a gesture towards one of the great Italian drivers of the time, not at all. The Italian completed nearly 40 laps with Michael Schumacher closely following the test, saying that it took him a little while to adapt, but that in the end it was impressive. His best lap was just over 3 seconds off the track record and his result was so surprising that in the middle of 2005 he was invited back again. Rossy returned to Fiorano and rotated for two days on August 2nd and 3rd, already lowering his times to a very interesting 582, one second faster than his previous test. Furthermore, as reported by the Italian press at the time, he recorded that same competitive time several times because Ferrari asked him to do long runs, not just the occasional qualifying lap. And that's where something interesting started to take shape , because on that test day he was accompanied by Luca Cordero de Monte Yemolo, the former president

of Ferrari, and Jantot, the team's general manager . Ferrari was beginning to see more than just marketing in those days with the Italian driver. A few months later, Rossy returned to Fiorano and traveled with the team to test alone in Melo, scoring 114 laps in just two days. And the romance intensified until it reached its ultimate test, because from January 31 to February 2, 2006, Valentino participated in the preseason at the Cheste circuit in Valencia. It was no longer a matter of a private exhibition; it was about filming on the same track at the same time. against half the Formula 1 grid. The first day it rained, he spun out on the first try and said with three laughs that he had to practice driving in the wet a bit. But on the last day with a dry track he set a 113 with an F2004 adapted in that way to the 2006 regulations, staying 7 tenths of a second behind Michael Schumacher's time. The cars weren't identical, so don't

interpret this as a laboratory comparison, but there's the data. Just as there is the fact that on that same day Rossy beat the two McLarens of Pedro de la Rosa and Juan Pablo Montoya, the Toyota of Jarno Truly and the BMW Sauber of the young Robert Kubica. This love affair between Rossy and Formula 1 was starting to get very serious and reached such a point that it even caused movements in the market, not of Formula 1, but of Moto GP. Lyn Jarvis, the then-head of Yamaha, admitted years later that they signed a very young Jorge Lorenzo in 2006 to be ready if Valentino Rossi went to Formula 1. There was some apprehension at Yamaha because they saw this move coming, and I think they were right to be cautious because the day did indeed come when they made him several offers. According to Valentino himself, the main offer he received was to sign with Minardi, although back in 2006 it was Toro Rosso, to do a season to gain experience and

then, if he was fast enough, move up to the team. Luca Cordero de Montesolo also spoke of linking him with the Sauber team, who before joining BMW served as a training ground for Felipe Masa before his signing with Ferrari. At that time, everyone around Valentino Rossi, including his mother, as she said in an interview, insisted that he get into Formula 1 to make this big change. But the Italian, returning from Valencia from that preseason day by plane, made the decision to stay in Moto GP and continue fighting for victories and world championships, which, as you well know, he achieved again. At the time, it was so widely discussed that even Michael Schumacher commented on it, saying that he was sorry he couldn't see him demonstrate his potential in motorsport. Meanwhile, Felipe Masa breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he had lost a potential rival for that Ferrari seat. The rumors, however, returned with more force a few months later, since in September 2006, as you may recall, the Kaiser

announced his retirement after winning the Italian Grand Prix. The press began to speculate about Rossy's name, but the reality is that the seat was already secured for Kinny Raikonen, who replaced him in 2007 after having already signed a pre-agreement with the Italians in 2005. From that moment on, the link with Maranello was not broken, as Rossi did some Ferrari tests, but it certainly cooled down considerably when he saw that there was no chance of such a legendary signing prospering . For the next 3 years, each of us went our separate ways winning titles, but in 2009 a final opportunity arrived that I didn't know about. Following Felipe Masa's serious accident in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix , Ferrari needed a replacement to complete the rest of the season. His first choice, in fact, was Michael Schumacher, but he had to decline because he was suffering from a neck injury caused by a motorcycle accident. The second option, as you know, was Luca Badoer, who was ultimately chosen to compete

in Valencia and Belgium. But because the pace of the team's eternal test driver was so terrible, since the poor man had not competed in a Grand Prix for 10 years, Ferrari thought about looking for another substitute for the Italian Grand Prix. And that's when Stefano Domenicali contacted Valentino Rossi again. This time Rossi was interested in this, but the problem was that in this 2009 season the FI had just completely banned mid-season testing as a cost-saving measure. And of course, going to Monza, especially since it's the Grand Prix where you go out on track without testing the car beforehand, was something that the legendary motorcycle racer obviously wasn't convinced about. In a way, the same thing happened to Luca Badoer. The Ferrari from that season was the only one he didn't test throughout the entire decade. And of course, they put you on the track without doing a single lap beforehand and what happens, happens . So Rossy sadly declined the offer, leaving that blessed mess in the hands of Giancarlos Fisiquela,

who had just finished pole and second in Spaor Shams with the humble Force India. Back in January 2010, Ferrari offered him one last test at the Barcelona- Catalunya circuit with the Ferrari F28, more as a gift and exhibition than anything else. But even in that test, the Italian recorded a time of 1219, which was only one tenth slower than Raikonen's pole position in that same year, 2008, with that same car. "He would have been an excellent Formula 1 driver," Domenicali said, "but he chose a different path." So you see, for a couple of years the craziest story in modern motorsport was really on the table. He had opportunities with real time, real negotiations, and even a prepared B team. Whether he chose well or poorly, I'll leave that up to you in the comments section, but at least we can always imagine how sensational it would have been. And well, that's all for today. If you liked the video, give it a like and leave a comment. All the best.