Fisi - "Rossi too old for F1"

[Kirk]

He makes a good point when it comes to lack of experience and for Rossi to sign with Ferrari at this point, the learning curve would be tremendous. But, you would think that if anyone could do it, Rossi could. At least the speed and g-forces associated should not bother him too much. Fisi also dismisses the Ferrari testing of Rossi as just publicity. Could very well be.

[Glen]

The g-forces will be all new to him, but he seems to be there or there abouts on pace already, certainly in the slower corners.

[Kirk]

Yes Glen, it would be much different than bike racing with no leaning the entire the body into high speed corners. But he has experienced the g-forces in corners as well as braking in previous testing and knows what he is up against. He undoubtedly is in top condition but will still require a good trainer to help him whip his upper body into (F1) race condition; a whole new set of muscles will be used I'd imagine. That is if the unlikely ever happens and he trys the transition.

[Kicking-back]

I know he has extensive motorbike racing experience - but surely these days he'd have to do some F3 or GP2 races before racing in a Grand Prix?

[runshaw]

He is supposed to only lap around 3 seconds of Schuey's pace already. I find it hard to believe how someone who hasn't even been a racing driver is able to achieve this pace, its astonishing.

[BootsOntheSide]

Ferrari have stated that in the slow corners he is already close to the pace, but loses time in the fast corners - this may be due to the G-Forces beign applied in a very different way to what he's used to. Perhaps he should look at Jean Alesi's 'leaning' style of taking corners and see if he can adapt that to his own style? I'm sure that specific muscles will need devleoping if Valé is to succeed - F1 is a very physical sport, and JPM found that he had to shape up to achieve maximum stamina especially (MotoGP races are about half the length of those in F1).

Giancarlo could be right - very few drivers have reached F1 in their late 20s and shone in recent years (Damon Hill is a rare exception) but perhaps that is purely down to Valé having not had a chance to be noticed in junior championships and given a chance until now? If he does the intended amount of testing, and tries some tracks other than Ferrari's own, we'll have a better idea this time next year. In fairness, 3 seconds away at Fiorano represents about 105% of Michael's pace, so he has work to do to be comeptitive in fast corners.

[Kicking-back]

He is a racing driver.

[Glen]

Leaning or no leaning, there's a big difference between one G and four G. Turn eight in Turkey is four G for seven seconds - four times your weight crushing your ribs, even if you "do a Kimi" (I'm sure he wasn't the only one) and rest your head on the outside of the car.

He certainly is some kind of prodigy though - down to within 3 seconds of good time without any car racing experience at all - wow.

[runshaw]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

He is a racing driver.

No, he is a motorbike rider.

[Kicking-back]

One rides a pushbike, one drives a motorbike.

[runshaw]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

One rides a pushbike, one drives a motorbike.

Don't be so petty. You don't here people saying you drive motorcycles, you RIDE them.

[Kicking-back]

Not being petty - it's just something I've been told by many bikers.

Never mind!

[runshaw]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

Not being petty - it's just something I've been told by many bikers.

Never mind!

Ok, but when I speak to my 2 biker friends, they always say they ride them.

[runshaw]

So does this show how easy F1 cars are to drive if Rossi can be on a good pace already, even though he is never been a racing driver?

[Snrub]

I don't follow bike racing, so I don't know a ton about him, but I don't think he's too old. F1 has a very small window for acceptance. I think it's silly because guys in their 30s can still be quick. Even if someone is in their early 30s, if they have the talent they should be given a shot. No team plans on signing drivers for 10 year contracts so they're no losing anything by signing an older guy.

[Kicking-back]

Originally Posted by runshaw

So does this show how easy F1 cars are to drive if Rossi can be on a good pace already, even though he is never been a racing driver?

3s off is reasonable - given he's got lots of racing experience.

It's getting the thing on the limit which is difficult and that's where he'll struggle.

I don't think it suggests F1 cars are too easy to drive.

[Silk Cut Jaguar]

Rossi already has some form of 4 wheeled license as he's taken part in rallies before now. Ferrari clearly believe he has something to offer aside from marketing otherwise they wouldn't be going to the extreme expense of giving him a monthly test all next year (if you subscribe to the rumours).

He already has a masterful understanding of track racing, he just needs to point the car at the apexes he already knows. Now, I know it's far from being that simple but who I am to argue with the opinion of the biggest F1 team?

[Inigo Montoya]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

3s off is reasonable - given he's got lots of racing experience.

It's getting the thing on the limit which is difficult and that's where he'll struggle.

I don't think it suggests F1 cars are too easy to drive.

And lets face it, Rossi is no mere mortal.

[ghinzani]

I hope he does switch, I'm getting bored of his dominance in Moto GP. However I assume Ferraris tobacco links would prevent Rossi joining them given his well publicised anti-tobacco stance. Then again he is sponsored by Gauloises so I guess anyones conscience has a price.

[Gerben24]

I hope he does go to F1. That way I can go to MotoGP races again, without being annoyed by Rossi"fans". Dont get me wrong, I think the guy is brilliant and I hope he's gonna kick ass in F1, but his teenage scooter loving chav-fanbase are like bloody hooligans who belong in a footballstadium and not at a racingcircuit. As F1 is too expensive anyway, I won't have to get annoyed by his people...

[foreversideways]

Getting off those bikes and getting into a Ferrari must feel so safe to him. No more risking life and limb every time you clamber onto the bike. I am sure he will take to it like a duck to water.

[joe rossi]

Fisi - "Rossi too old for F1"

Oi! who says I'm too old?

young whippersnappers...bah!

[Raglanparade]

How old is Rossi ?

[SpawnyWhippet]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

3s off is reasonable - given he's got lots of racing experience.

It's getting the thing on the limit which is difficult and that's where he'll struggle.

I don't think it suggests F1 cars are too easy to drive.

Exactly, I think most professional racing drivers could get within 3 secs of Schumacher after a day in the car, but only the top few % could get to within a second. Then only the top few drivers in the world will make the next transition and get the car within a few tenths of MS. Its an exponential curve to extract the last bit from a car, not linear. I think Rossi would make a good racing driver, but not necessarily a quick F1 driver.

[Halsey]

He's 26 at the moment, and I believe he's contracted to Yamaha until the end of '06, so the earliest he could get into F1 would be at the age of 28... I'm not sure whether he'd be able to make the transition from 2 wheels to 4, but it'd be nice to see him in F1 and being successful.