Valentino Rossi is to begin a regular test programme with Ferrari as the four-times MotoGP champion gears up for a switch to F1 with the Scuderia.

Rossi - who has already tested twice with Ferrari at their private circuit, Fiorano - with now undertake a much more serious test programme, as the rumours that he will switch to four-wheels start edging ever closer to becoming reality. Now just one race away from potentially sealing his fifth straight MotoGP crown, the prospects of the flamboyant Italian rider were being talked up by Scuderia Ferrari's Ross Brawn at Monza this weekend.

"This winter and next year he'll do a few more serious tests. It's a kind of open-ended agreement," said Ross Brawn in Monza yesterday when pressed on the situation with the bike star. "There are some objectives. He's going to try and have more time next year to devote to this and I would expect he would be in the car once a month or once every six weeks," added the Englishman, who while acknowledging that Rossi has the mental strength and temperament to succeed in F1, is keen to see if he has the natural speed required.

I think it will be a reasonable programme to have continuity and then make a proper judgment. One was a nice day out and the last one was a bit more serious. You can see he's got huge potential. I think there's a huge potential from a driver point of view and from a commercial point of view you can imagine the potential it would have as well," concluded Brawn.

Asked if Rossi could make as switch to four wheels, and straight into Formula one, Brawn replied: "I think we need to see how things progress before we make those sort of predictions or scenarios. I think the thing that's difficult to give Valentino in the shorter term is four-wheel racing experience. You can see very clear that he's got the ability to drive a car quickly. Once he learns all the nuances of driving a car quickly then he's going to be very fast. I see no reason why he shouldn't."
 

"Schumacher will end his career at Ferrari. I think he will stop at the end of 2006," Formula One commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone told the influential Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. "And I am ready to bet that, in 2007, Raikkonen will be in a Ferrari. I would like it if he were together with Valentino Rossi, but I don't have any information on that," he added.

Meanwhile Brawn also stoked the recent strong media rumours linking McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen with a switch to Scuderia Ferrari for the 2007 F1 season. "It's a nice ring to the names isn't it, Raikkonen and Rossi," said Brawn. "Everyone can see Kimi is a fantastic driver, he would be a catch for Ferrari. I think Michael's got to stop one day and the two guys you've got to say appeal are Alonso and Raikkonen." The Finn is currently 24 points behind F1 championship leader Fernando Alonso and is very much the in-form driver, with only the poor reliability of his McLaren-Mercedes keeping from being closer to the top slot.