Rossi to Ferrari

MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO, ITALY, JAN.14: Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi will get another opportunity to drive a Ferrari Formula One car when he tests the F2008 at the Catalunya Circuit outside of Barcelona next week.

Rossi will pilot the 2008 race car on January 20-21 at the track where he had the most dramatic win of his 2009 title-winning season. It was in the last corner that Rossi dove up the inside of teammate Jorge Lorenzo to steal the victory.

The opportunity to return to the driver's seat for the first time since 2008 is courtesy of Ferrari boss Luca de Montezemolo. Montezemolo promised Rossi the ride if he won the 2009 MotoGP World Championship, according to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team boss Stefano Domenicali.

"Chairman Montezemolo had promised it to him after he won the World Championship again," Domenicali said during a news conference at the combined F1/MotoGP Marlboro team launches in the Italian ski resort of Madonna de 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."

Rossi's possible future with Formula One continues to be the subject of endless speculation, especially given that his contract with Yamaha is up at the end of 2009. Last season, he said that he would decide his future this coming June. During a recent promotional event in India, Rossi said that he plans to race motorcycles for years to come and downplayed a move to F1.

"When I finish with bikes, I might want to see some seasons in rallying," he said. "I know F1 would've been easier, but by the time I finish MotoGP, I will be too old for F1."

Yet when Domenicali was asked about a possible third Ferrari, he 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."