Valentino Rossi feared Michael Schumacher would think he was an “idiot” the first time he tested an F1 car.
The MotoGP great got the chance to try his hand with four wheels back in 2006, as part of a special event in Valencia organised by Ferrari – with The Doctor just over half a second slower than Schumacher, despite having an older car at his disposal. But speaking about the experience, Rossi admitted that he feared Schumacher would hold a grudge after he openly admitted putting money on title rival Jacques Villeneuve to win the 1997 F1 world championship.
Speaking to Corriere della Sera in Italy, the nine-time world champion said: “I have a wonderful memory of Schumi. It was known that years before I had bet on Jacques Villeneuve, therefore against him. So, when we found ourselves in the garage I was a bit paranoid. I thought now he will look at me and think, here he is, the idiot. Instead he was very kind, he gave me a lot of advice. A real cool guy.”
Rossi is also known for his friendship with another F1 icon, Lewis Hamilton, with the due swapping machinery in 2019 as Hamilton got a chance to show what he could do aboard Rossi’s Yamaha MotoGP bike. Giving his take on the seven time champion’s switch to Ferrari for 2025, Rossi continued: “It’s a beautiful thing seeing him there, in the red overalls, excites me. I really want to understand how he does it. And how Leclerc does it.”
And he revealed that the Italian’s lax timekeeping kept Hamilton waiting when the duo tested each other’s machines, continuing: “I arrived late. I was changing, he entered the motorhome and it was Hamilton dressed in his full gear. He pointed to the clock: the usual Italians, cappuccino, brioche… He scolded me. He smiled. Not completely though.”
Rossi hung up his leathers in 2021 and is now racing on four wheels full-time, but said that a horror incident a year earlier at the Austrian GP involving VR46 Academy protégé Franco Morbidelli was a key factor in his decision. Morbidelli tangled with Avintia’s Johann Zarco at more than 200mph, with both riders seeing their bikes fly into the air – and narrowly avoid collecting the completely unaware Rossi.
He added: “In the morning I wake up, I realise I’m all in one piece, safe and sound, and I’m happy. The credit goes to luck, but also to the attention you put into preserving your body, into reasoning. I remember a lot of precise moments, a prepared and successful overtaking, the intention of a move without knowing if you’ll get out of it, the instant that triggers an accident.
“In Austria, 2020, Morbidelli’s bike flying, passes over my helmet like a huge mad bullet. It was the most dangerous moment of my career. An accident that accelerated the decision to stop with motorcycles because it was out of my control. Now when I go racing I try and find the same concentration. I miss my family, but I know I also need that happiness.
“It’s about improving, being competitive with cars. Which are much safer than motorcycles. Before the start, in MotoGP, you’re very tense, you have to deal with fear. An incomparable adrenaline. And then car drivers are almost always rich people who pay to race while motorcycle drivers are runaways who maybe become rich by racing.”