Rossi may go on denying that he has no certain plans to be moving to F1, but this just doesn’t seem to add up. I for one think that Rossi does have ‘certain’ plans. I believe that Ferrari may even have a contractual option on him for 2007 (if you’re going to F1, it’s with Ferrari). It costs a fortune to test F1 cars, would Ferrari make that sort of investment without contractual commitments from Rossi?

In Moto GP the chance of a challenge being given to Rossi has now completely ceased to exist. Rossi is unable to get the same buzz from winning as he has done previously, and considering his passion for cars as well as bikes, a natural progression that will enable him to transfer his racing skills and give him that same feeling he had when he made the move from Honda to Yamaha is one I can not see Rossi letting go. He is not getting any younger, and as his dad has advised, if he is going to try to mirror the achievements of John Surtees, he needs to be doing it now. Rossi may not be 100% confident about committing himself to F1, but his defensiveness when questioned about it demonstrates that it is an opportunity he knows would be stupid to let pass.

Rossi is only 3 seconds slower than Michael Schumacher’s lap record on his second test day. It is inevitable that he will be able to get up to pace by 2007. But I’m guessing that Rossi is not going to make it easy for any Formula One team to get their hands on him, in its current state. Rossi has already expressed his negativity about the politics of F1. F1 has a growing reputation of frustration and boredom. Various drivers have expressed their dissatisfaction about the fact that it is so difficult to overtake in an f1 car. Rule changes seem to represent more of an ‘equal rights policy’ rather than a set of principles F1 teams and drivers are simply supposed to abide by. Although Rossi has shown a more serious side in recent months, I don’t think he is in any major hurry to completely dismantle the element of fun he likes to get from his sport.

Rossi gets agro when asked about what he is going to do, because he has this conflict to be dealing with. The pressure to perform well, Rossi can handle, but being controlled he cannot. There are numerous advantages that Valentino Rossi can bring to F1 on the whole and he knows this. But going on Rossi’s skepticism that already exists in relation to its current state, I don’t think he will be rushing into anything without taking some kind of influential stance over how it is run.

This time last year Rossi was glowing. He was half way through his first year, fighting to win his first championship with Yamaha. A win that proved that as a rider he didn’t need to be on the best bike to dominate. This year, although he is more than dominating the championship he is not appearing to be overjoyed with his position. He has given himself another year with Yamaha. A year within which he knows he can dominate, enjoy the effects of a possible downsize in engine change, with enough brain capacity left over to concentrate on his preparations to join F1 by 2007.

He is aware of the hard work and time consumption it will take to fast-track towards the level of driving needed to compete in the F1 Grand Prix by this time, and any additional stress caused by media interest is bound to get his back up. But we all know once Rossi sets his mind to something, he is more than capable of achieving his goal.

Once Rossi has attained what he plans to accomplish in F1, there is no doubt in my mind that he will return to Moto GP in order to take the title back from anyone who has the pleasure of minding it for him during his departure. But Rossi has a passion for both bikes and cars. Rossi will not waste the opportunity of an additional mark on his name for making history, satisfying his urgency to take up a new and difficult task, and an underlying chance to challenge authority.

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