Briatore on Rossi: "I would finish this year and then say enough"

Flavio Briatore on Valentino Rossi - Spoken during the broadcast “Tutti summoned” on Radio24; Flavio Briatore after talking about F1, his old place of work, and Ferrari, he also said a few words about Valentino Rossi. The Italian entrepreneur, based on his experience as team principal in F1, thinks that the time has come for the driver from Tavullia to leave, despite his still fundamental role within the MotoGP.

These words Flavio Briatore: “I believe that Valentino has aged like everyone ages, but in MotoGP there are kids who bite your ankles. They're pissed off like animals. I believe that Rossi is a great champion, and if he weren't there I don't know how many people in Italy would be interested in the MotoGP." The entrepreneur then added: “It's worth it if he still plays it, but if I were him and I saw that I was no longer competitive, I would finish this year and then say enough. Of the MotoGP, Valentino is the director, the promoter, the producer, he has done a bit of everything."

Afterwards Rossi, the former team principal, makes a very strong comparison: “It will be like when Senna died: the Japanese no longer saw Formula 1 for years because Ayrton had been adopted by them, because he had Honda engines, he raced for McLaren, he was an idol and his funeral was crazy. All sports need stars."