Zoom Rossi back behind the wheel of a Ferrari

Multiple and current MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi came within two seconds of a fully competitive lap time when on Thursday he tested with Ferrari.

It is no longer suggested that the 29-year-old Yamaha rider is contemplating a switch to the four-wheeled category, but he did remark on Thursday that he believes he could have been 'a good F1 driver'.

At Mugello in the morning, Rossi's best lap - at the wheel of a car adorned with his famous number 46 - was just under 1:24 seconds, but he improved to 1:22.5 in the afternoon.

Ferrari's current race drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen have posted laps in the 1:21s with a similar configuration to the F2008 machine.

Rossi, who will run at the Italian circuit again on Friday, said before the test that he wants to get within a second of the proper pace.

"With a lot of work I could have become a good F1 driver."

"It is hard to say if I would have become a winner or not, but the potential was there," he told reporters, in the company of Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Rossi, wearing a F1-standard helmet painted in his famous colours, was watched on by his father Graziano and Yamaha team boss Davide Brivio.

Source: GMM
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