Between 2004 and 2006, Valentino Rossi took part in several Formula 1 tests with Ferrari, and the transition from MotoGP to the four-wheel premier class was a strong possibility – a path that could have led him to compete for the Maranello team. However, he remained in MotoGP, retiring in 2021 to dedicate himself full-time to GT racing.
Il Dottore spoke on Gianluca Gazzoli’s podcast about this move to F1 that never materialized: ‘It was true in the sense that in 2004, when I won with Yamaha, Stefano Domenicali called me, and he said: «I have to let you test the car». We went to Fiorano to test the car. I was very fast and clocked under 59.1s. […]. Later, after those tests, I went to Mugello. I also did a real test in Valencia’.
With his performance being convincing, Rossi had the opportunity to join F1, but not immediately with Ferrari, as he recounted: ‘And then I had to choose. If I said yes, I would have competed with Minardi, the B team. And then, if I were fast enough, the goal and path would have been to compete with Ferrari’.