Valentino Rossi is now doing multi team testing in a Formula 1 car where everyone is getting the opportunity to see just how well he can drive compared to a lot of other drivers and teams on the same track. Previously, he was out with the Ferrari team and it was hard to tell if his skills would transfer at a measurable and competitive level. So far, it seems he’s doing pretty darn good. Testing at Valencia, he’s driving the F2004 Ferrari and finished 11th out of 15 drivers. Considering he’s not running the latest Ferrari 248 like Michael Schumacher who was third fastest and Jacques Villeneuve who was ninth in the latest BMW Sauber F1.06 his 11th place time is impressive.
Rossi still has a year in MotoGP of course, but if he is a year away from F1 and is already able to turn these kinds of lap times in an older car, I would expect him to do quite well if he makes the highly anticipated jump next year. There were doubters who scorned his ability to transition very quickly but Rossi is young and competitive and extremely able. I think he’ll do great.
Chris says
Actually, by running the older Ferrari he would’nt necessarily be at a disadvantage. The new F1 cars are V8’s which are less powerful and have less torque than the older V10’s. Granted, his V10 was rev-limited, but it isn’t a clear cut case of disadvantage. Not that any of this matters, as it is incredible that he did so well. He was barely over a second behind Schumacher’s best time.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=motoringMotorSportsNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060201:MTFH02844_2006-02-01_18-12-49_L0112164:1