Valentino Rossi joins F1 team for shock Imola Grand Prix appearance

Valentino Rossi made a shock appearance at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix where he joined a lucky Formula 1 team during the race weekend.

The Italian MotoGP legend is considered one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, with nine grand prix motorcycle racing world championships to his name, including seven premier class titles.

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Rossi’s name was also linked to F1 at several points of his career, and even took part in tests with Ferrari intermittently from 2004 until 2010.

However, a full-time switch to F1 never materialised; but that doesn’t mean Rossi isn't a fan of the series, and he recently attended the 2025 race in Imola - where he was hassled on the grid by Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz.

The champion also joined McLaren behind-the-scenes in Imola and was pictured alongside racing driver Lando Norris, who regards Rossi as his hero, rarely seen without his neon green ‘The Doctor’ bucket hat at one point in time.

Norris and Rossi link up at Imola Grand Prix

Rossi has always been a hero of Norris’, and the Brit previously admitted that he was five-years-old when he decided he would be a Rossi fan, citing the colours the champion wore as what largely attracted him at first.

The 46-year-old retired from MotoGP at the end of the 2021 season, and Norris revealed that ahead of his last race Rossi messaged the McLaren star, expressing how much he would miss watching the Italian race.

"We talk every now and then,” Norris said to the media at the Brazilian Grand Prix back in 2021.

“We still want to try to do some together -- driving. He does a few GTs and stuff. Abu Dhabi 12 hours and the Dubai 12 hours.

"It's not just motorbikes that he likes. He loves car racing as well. If he can spend some time to come to an F1 race, that is the plan for something that we want to do together. Hopefully that can be done."

While Norris might be currently too busy fighting for a world drivers' championship in F1 to compete elsewhere, perhaps we will see Rossi and the F1 star race together in the next decade.

Lando 🤝 @ValeYellow46

Two racing icons in Imola 🧡#McLaren | #ImolaGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/wOsH6P7FZn

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 18, 2025

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