Grapevine: Rossi impressed by Schumacher

Schumacher surprised many when he topped the testing times on his return to the cockpit at the first test of the winter at the Circuit de Catalunya, but Rossi thinks it a greater achievement when he lapped just a couple of seconds off the pace during a run on a GP7 bike at Valencia.

When asked if he was impressed by Schumacher's recent performances, Rossi told Gazzetta dello Sport: "Not with his Ferrari laptimes, because after all it's just one year that he hasn't raced and he is still in shape.

"But it's a different matter with Ducati. I've been told he lapped in the 1m37s, which sounds unbelievable. He went really quick. If he was a few years younger he could have gone for a second career as a racing rider."

Speculation earlier this year suggested that Rossi could be poised for some more testing opportunities with Ferrari in the near future, but the Italian has ruled out such a possibility.

"That looks very unlikely," he said. "Instead Dindo Capello has offered me to try out his Audi, so I'll be able to say that I've driven the best cars in the world.

"And maybe in February I will drive this Focus in the snow in Norway," added the Italian, who won the Monza Rally with Ford Focus WRC over the weekend.