Vincent Vosse, Valentino Rossi’s team boss in GT racing, believes that the MotoGP legend would have excelled in Formula 1 if the Ferrari deal had worked out.
Valentino Rossi’s second motorsport career officially began a few days ago with the Imola 3-hour race, the 2022 season opener of the GT World Challenge in Europe. The nine-time motorcycle world champion is driving the entire GTWC season for the Belgian W Racing Team (WRT) this year. It is Rossi’s first full season in motor racing, having shaped the motorcycle world championship with equal parts success and charisma for more than a quarter of a century.
Rossi’s first outings on four wheels are by no means his GTWC races this year. “The Doctor” had already contested one or two GT races parallel to his MotoGP career in recent years. And Rossi was also sporadically active in rallying – and successful.
At the Monza Rally, which had been purely a show event for years, he is still the record winner with seven victories. In the World Rally Championship (WRC), the Italian was active as a gas starter three times. And Rossi has also driven a Formula 1 car several times, albeit only during test drives.
In February 2006, Rossi drove the world champion car from the 2004 Formula 1 season, the Ferrari F2004, at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. Almost five years later he completed another Ferrari test, in this case in November 2008 at Mugello behind the wheel of the then current F2008.
And in December 2019, as part of a vehicle swap with Lewis Hamilton in Valencia, Rossi also tested his world champion car from the 2017 season, the Mercedes F1 W08. In return, Hamilton rode Rossi’s Yamaha M1 from the MotoGP World Championship on this occasion.
Formula 1 change from Rossi was in the room
As far as Rossi is concerned, the Ferrari crew was so impressed by the talent of the prominent test driver right from the first test in spring 2006 that a change to Formula 1 was even considered. Ultimately, however, Rossi decided to remain in MotoGP, shortly thereafter extending his Yamaha contract by several years. In the fall of 2014, Rossi revealed that he “never regretted” his decision.
Nevertheless, not a few believe that “The Doctor” would have achieved top results as a Formula 1 driver. This includes Vincent Vosse, Rossi’s current team boss at WRT-Audi in the GTWC. “Everyone who has such a great career is something special. If he had switched to cars…” Vosse mused a few days ago in an interview with “Motorsport-Total.com” and described it as “probably” that the two-wheeler superstar could have had a great career in Formula 1.
“We all know that at a certain stage in his career there was an important decision whether he wanted to go into Formula 1 or not,” said Vosse, “but he chose the bikes that have been his life up until now. It was the right decision and he still achieved a lot after that decision. But I’m sure he would have had success in Formula 1 too, yes.”