Postby Maserati » February 3rd, 2006, 1:00 am
from BBC sports
Valentino Rossi can deny it all he likes, but all the signs are that some time soon he will swap his Yamaha bike for a Ferrari Formula One car.
The 26-year-old Italian is currently taking part in his fourth testing session with the Scuderia - and significantly his first in public and alongside other teams.
The results will go some way to determining whether, as some expect, he may even take to four wheels as soon as 2007 after his current Yamaha contract ends this year.
Rossi, regarded by many as the finest motorcycle racer in history, has already performed miracles by clinching five MotoGP championships, in the process turning Yamaha into a title-winning machine.
But will that talent translate into F1 success?
Britain's John Surtees is the only man to have won world championships on two and four wheels, and he told BBC Sport the differences are not as vast as many might believe.
"Put simply, you're having to control with your right foot what you normally control with your right hand," he said.
"It is a case of adapting to the techniques required with a car, but there is not a huge difference in the way the driver has to understand his vehicle.
"You're strapped in to a car and you don't have the freedom of movement you do with a bike. You can't control it by your bodyweight, you have to sense it and put it through the four wheels.
"But the basic race knowledge and craft you've learnt in two wheels can certainly be applied to four wheels."
Surtees believes Rossi's main challenge will be sussing out his rivals.
"You're entering a new world where you have to understand those who you can pressure, those who it's best to steer clear of," said Surtees, who won six motorbike world titles before taking the F1 crown in 1964.
"Rossi has psyched out a lot of his rivals with the way he is both on and off the track. He's grown up with a lot of his fellow competitors so he's been quite clever and astute in how he's handled them.
"In F1, he'll be dropped in at the deep end."
Williams driver Mark Webber indicated as much with his remarks ahead of this week's testing session in Valencia.
"He's quite brave really, to come in and share the circuit with the rest of us," said the Australian.
Surtees says his arrival in F1 prompted a mixed reaction from other drivers.
"Some were suspicious, some made it uncomfortable. Others were welcoming - normally the better ones," he said.
"With Rossi, there will be some who won't be very happy because they'll think he's jumped the queue.
"There's quite a lot of talented lads out there queuing up to get a decent seat and they might feel a little cheated.
"On the other hand, Rossi's done everything he could do on his bike so good luck to him."
And Surtees, who won his world title with Ferrari, added: "Rossi has a unique opportunity: one of the finest F1 teams in the world is putting all its facilities at his disposal.
"What more could he ask?"
