Rossi: I Can be Fast in F1

However, the Italian refused to be drawn into speculations about a possible switch to F1.

Rossi has been rumoured to have a testing contract in place with Ferrari for 2006, prior to a race deal with the team from 2007, following a recent intensive two-day test session with the Italian outfit.

But speaking to Italian newspaper Repubblica ahead of this weekend's MotoGP race at Brno, Rossi has played down any talk about a definite switch to F1.

"Ferrari invited me to come and test, and since I was on vacation, I went," he said. "But there is nothing to speculate about for the future.

"It wasn't me who asked to come and test, they called me, but I wouldn't let such an opportunity slip me by. It's always a great feeling. For them it was interesting to understand if indeed I can also be fast in cars.

"Did they take advantage of me for marketing reasons? Ferrari has no need for such a thing. Why have I not used my helmet? Simply because they told me that I would have to use what they gave me, which was the same type as Schumacher's. With some adjustments, it was sitting practically perfect on me."

Although Rossi had tested for Ferrari before, his most recent outing was a far more serious affair - with the Italian revealing that he was pushed to give feedback on the handling of the car.

"This time, I did many more kilometres. I wouldn't say it was like starting from zero again, but I had to work hard to get adjusted again and accordingly things improved over the two days," he added.

"Also, the Ferrari engineers treated me like a real test driver, and they strapped small gadgets to gather data. They made different changes to the car and wanted me to tell them how the car behaved every time and what was changed. Many times I guessed it right.

"And I learned that in cars, getting the right set-up is fundamental. Also in motorcycling, if things are not completely in place, the driver can make a big difference. With cars, not so much."

Ferrari have not revealed any laptimes from the test, or talked about the reasons behind it, but Rossi himself believes that he acquitted himself well.

"I can't reveal the laptimes, because Ferrari do not want to," he said. "But if you take into account how I improved, I would say the lap times were fine. So yes, I could be fast in Formula One as well."

Finally, Rossi has hinted he would be in line for more testing with Ferrari, but on a different track than Fiorano.

"In order to understand if I can indeed be competitive [in F1], I must also run on a track more challenging than Fiorano," the Italian said.

"Somewhere like Mugello or Barcelona [would be suitable], because even if I'm familiar with the track, I wouldn't have an advantage; Formula One is a completely different experience altogether."