Who really has the deepest pocket in F-1? Obviously, if Toyota and Mercedes really wanted to, they could easily outspend Ferrari.

Valentino Rossi, no fan of the pre-race press conference, enlivened the Assen Q&A session by announcing that there was no way he would be going to Formula1. When asked how he saw his future in F1, he replied. "I don't see any future, I'll be staying in bike till I quit. I can't remember the last time I watched an F1 race. I don't see the way the sport is that I would get any satisfaction from it. The only thing the drivers do is drive the car to the start line." Ouch!

Rossi, whose contract with Yamaha is up the end of the year, reckoned that he would go for one-year contracts from here on in. "The thing that I like is developing a bike and winning with it and the team. When I stop enjoying that, then I'll quit and go for a quiet life. I know I tried rally driving but to go from the ultimate in two-wheeled technology to a Fiat Punto isn't that appealing either, to be honest." Rossi - bikes or nothing? Oh yes and after the press conference he took his scooter out and wheelied the entire length of the Assen circuit, all 5,997 metres of it. For the hell of it, one imagines and, of course, because he can.

[25/08/05 - 17:25]

Raikkonen pledges future to McLaren

‘I'm completely happy with my team’

McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen on Thursday pledged his future to the British Formula One stable, pouring cold water on reports he had signed a contract for rivals Ferrari.

"There's no doubt we have the fastest package, I'm winning races and I'm feeling well in the team, so why would I even consider changing teams?"

Raikkonen said after a report in Germany's Bild newspaper that the Finn had signed a precontract to race for Ferrari in 2007.

"Surely, I'm in a position most of Formula One drivers want to be in," said Raikkonen. "I want to win races and world championships with McLaren. Ever since I came into Formula One, there have been speculations about my future, so there is nothing new for me. As I've said many times, I'm completely happy with my team."

McLaren boss Ron Dennis said Raikkonen and fellow team driver Juan Pablo Montoya were there to stay.

"McLaren is locked in a battle for the drivers and manufacturers championships and everybody in the team from the drivers to the mechanics is 100 percent focused on this.

"We anticipate long term relationships with both Kimi and Juan Pablo and consequently, the team is not in negociations with any other driver, including Michael Schumacher," concluded Ron Dennis.

Source AFP

Valentino Rossi test drives Ferrari F1 Car

August 6, 2005 The prospects of the World’s best motorcycle racer switching to Formula 1 Motor Racing were enhanced significantly this week when Italian World Motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi tested the Ferrari F2005 car for two complete days at Ferrari’s private Fiorano test facility, lapping fast enough for former Ferrari test-driver Jean Alesi to describe his performance as “formidable”. Apart from Rossi’s 58.3 second lap of Fiorano (Michael Schumacher's track record is 55.999), further indication of the importance of the test was evident when Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo and F1 supremo Jean Todt were on hand for the drive.

At the end of the second day of testing at Fiorano, the Moto GP World Champion showed his satisfaction: “I wanted to get a better understanding of a Formula 1 car and I would like to thank Ferrari for giving me the opportunity to do so. The two days were intensive and interesting. I completed a lot of kilometres and I began to understand the handling of the car, working with the engineers and (Ferrari test driver) Marc Gené. I go back to the two wheels where there is still a long way to go to the end of the season.”

It was the second time that Rossi has driven a Formula 1 car, having put in 20 laps in April last year. Two solid days in an F1 car is more than simply satisfying a whim, leading to the heightened speculation that a deal has already been agreed to between Rossi and Ferrari. Rossi extended his MotoGP contract with Yamaha on Monday until the end of the 2006 season, just a few days before Ferrari announced it was replacing Rubens Barrichello with Felipe Massa. That Ferrari signed Massa for only one year could be co-nincidence but it has fuelled speculation Rossi could make the much anticipated move to Ferrari in 2007.

Ex-Ferrari driver Jean Alesi was quoted in Corriere della Sera, “Fifty-eight-three in the summer, meaning in non-ideal conditions – formidable.'' “Valentino makes me dream and I say he has nothing to lose. Go ahead and try it. Everyone likes him, from the Italians to the Japanese.''

Rossi left Honda after winning three world titles in the premier class, “in search of a challenge” and more than found the measure of his challenge, taking an uncompetitive motorcycle to a World championship in 2004, and developing it into a completely formidable machine in 2005. With ten rounds of the world championship run, Rossi has won eight of them and leads the title by 120 points – effectively five wins, with seven races to go.

Clearly, he will be in search of another challenge before long.

The irony is that by moving to F1, Rossi would breathe much needed life into both series – his dominance of MotoGP would end (since the beginning of 2001 he has won 48 of 74 Grands Prix, and 11 of the last 13 races) and he would focus attention on F1 like never before with his massive supporter base.

While many people believe Rossi has what it takes to make the switch, Renault F1 principal Flavio Briatore is not one of them, telling Corriere della Sera, "It would be great to have Valentino in F1, but he wouldn't have even a minimal chance of winning."

For Italian motor racing fans, the prospect of an Italian driving an Italian car to a world championship would be very special. it hasn't happened since Ascari won more than a half a century ago. And from another perspective, only one man in history has won the Formula 1 Championship and the World MotoGP Championship (then the World 500cc Championship) – Englishman John Surtees.

Now there’s a challenge fit for Valentino!

Rossi and Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2007?
A three year deal for Valentino Rossi?

Valentino Rossi is on the verge of clinching his fifth straight MotoGP
title at Motegi in a three weeks time as rumours and reports from
Italy, specifically La Repubblica suggest that the Italian star has signed a
three year deal to join Ferrari in 2007 for an estimated 80 million Euros.

La Repubblica suggests that Rossi and Kimi Raikkonen will be the 2007
lineup for the once dominant champions.

There has been nothing official on this from Ferrari who just took up
an option on the services of Felipe Massa to partner Michael Schumacher
next year. Schumacher himself is under contract to the squad until the end
of 2006 and according to reports, will await the first tests of the F2006
before making any decision as to whether he will remains with the team,
move to pastures new, or retire from the sport.

The Rossi-Ferrari link is nothing new, but recent test with the teams
seem to indicate the two parties are moving closer to a long- term working
relationship and Rossi is believed to be conducting another two tests
this year for Ferrari. His new contract with Yamaha is a one year extension
and is up at the end of 2006.

Of course, a lot of Ferrari's 2007 lineup will depend on how
competitive the team is next year and how well Felipe Massa performs alongside
Schumacher. As it stands, Ferrari and tyre partner Bridgestone are
between one and two seconds a lap off the pace at many Grand Prix. Should the
team return to its winning ways in 2006, Raikkonen and Rossi may well be
more inclined to make the move.

There are reports across Europe that Kimi Raikkonen has now inked a deal to join Ferrari in 2007, whether Michael Schumacher is there or not. Stories have been published in various Finnish newspapers, in Germany where the magazine Express has quoted a Ferrari sources saying that the deal is done and in Spain where Fernando Alonso's confidant Adrian Campos has been quoted as saying that Raikkonen will not be Alonso's team mate next year.

The speculation should not , in theory, have any effect on the performance of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa as Schumacher will not want to show any signs of weakness if he is going to go up against Raikkonen next year and may not much care if he is planning to retire, while Massa will need good performances if he is going to be out looking for a job again in 2007.