In the past, other MotoGP
rivals have taken to an F1 car, notably Valentino Rossi with Ferrari and Jorge
Lorenzo for Mercedes, while Fernando Alonso made the switch in the other
direction to test Marquez’s 2015 bike.
Marquez was given the
opportunity to switch from his Repsol Honda bike to an STR F1 car. The Spaniard
drove for a few hours at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg ahead of the Austrian
Grand Prix there later this season.
He first underwent a series of
laps in the simulator before getting onto the track for the test run. Hooked
after just a few laps, he said: “It was always my dream to race the quickest
cars in the world. I had great respect for it ahead of today, and I didn’t
sleep well. In the end it was an unbelievable experience, and an absolute
highlight of my career. There is a massive difference to MotoGP. The limited
visibility was a great challenge, in particular, to begin with. You feel a lot
more constricted in the cockpit. The braking distances and timing in turns is
completely different. A Formula 1 car has much more downforce, of course, which
made for a lot of fun in the part of the circuit with the most turns, in
particular.”
And does he see a career in
four-wheel racing in the future? Marquez said: "My complete focus in the
coming years will remain on MotoGP. I’m part of a fantastic team, and I feel
fully motivated. Who knows though, maybe Formula 1 will be a serious idea for
me in a few years’ time!”
The 25-year-old had a litany
of F1 big hitters to put him through his paces with the likes of three-time
world champion Niki Lauda, eight-time grand prix winner Mark Webber and Red
Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko watching from the stands.
Source: Red Bull Content Pool