Schu and Rossi to Red Bull

If you think the Ferrari team’s current slip in form will be the biggest surprise to hit Formula 1 over the next season or two, don’t you believe it, as the latest (June) issue of F1 Racing magazine, can exclusively reveal. How about the possibility that Michael Schumacher will switch teams and see out the final season of his career with Red Bull Racing? Or, just as amazing, the possibility that he’ll have Valentino Rossi – the current MotoGP world champion and possibly the greatest motorcycle racer ever – as a team-mate?

An investigation by the magazine has uncovered the ambitious plans of Red Bull Racing’s success-hungry new owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, the billionaire founder of the Red Bull drinks empire. Not only are RBR already courting Rossi, they will be using Ferrari rather than Cosworth engines for the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

However, that two-year deal marks only the beginning of Mateschitz’s interest in the Maranello team. Ferrari’s owner, Fiat, are a failing motor-industry giant who currently need all the financial help they can get, so there’s a distinct possibility that Mateschitz’s bottomless pockets will be needed to offset the cost of running a very expensive F1 team. Acquisition of a generous share of Ferrari themselves is therefore likely to be the first step in a much bigger game that has Michael Schumacher and the entire Ferrari team as its ultimate prize.

For all the details, read the June issue of F1 Racing, on sale from this week. ITV-F1