Rossi to drive Ferrari again
The reigning MotoGP champion was reportedly admitted to San Salvatore hospital in Pesaro, Italy on Thursday, with severe abdominal pain.
He was diagnosed with an inflamed appendix but not operated on, instead checking out of hospital with antibiotics.
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed earlier this week that the 30-year-old is scheduled to test a F2008 for two days at Barcelona beginning next Wednesday.
The Italian is being linked with Ferrari's plans to enter a third car in the world championship, possibly with a small team.
"It's not sure that the third car will be allowed, but if it is, Valentino will be welcome," Felipe Massa said on Friday at the Madonna di Campiglio media event, according to Corriere dello Sport.
Domenicali added: "For us the third machine would represent a good move for F1, and especially if a driver like Valentino would be interested."
01/14/10
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| Valentino Rossi tested a Ferrari F1 car several times already |
It has been a rumor for quite a while and today Stefano Domenicali officially confirmed that Valentino Rossi will be back behind the wheel of a red Formula 1 single-seater. "Chairman Montezemolo had promised it to him after he won the World Championship again," the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Team Principal said during the news conference in Madonna di Campiglio. "Valentino will drive in Barcelona on 20 and 21 January behind the wheel of a F2008. After that we’ll concentrate on our respective goals: Moto GP for Vale and Formula 1 for Ferrari. If I’m his fan? Our relationship regarding esteem and friendship says it all."
Asked about a possible future for Valentino behind the wheel of a third Ferrari in Formula 1 Domenicali said: "Never say never. There has been discussed a lot about a third car and this could be a hypothesis of an interesting improvement for the whole world of Formula 1, even more if as a result Rossi had the possibility to race in our sport. This is not true only for Ferrari, but also for the other teams: when we’re talking about a third car we don’t necessarily mean that it has to be three cars in our team, but we might also give our single-seater to be run by a small team."