Marco Bezzecchi
There have been a few occasions in the past where an F1 driver has swapped four wheels for two, and vice-versa. But none of them infuriated their professional counterparts as Lewis Hamilton did to Jorge Lorenzo.
A little-known fact about Michael Schumacher is that, following his first retirement from Formula 1 at the end of 2006, he competed in several rounds of the German Superbikes championship.
The Ferrari legend took part in nine out of the 16 races that were commissioned during the 2008 season, with a highlight coming at the round in Hungary, where he achieved a podium finish.
Mike Hailwood is another name that springs to mind. The nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle world champion chopped and changed his mind on two wheels or four wheels over the entirety of his career, entering a total of 50 F1 Grands Prix and achieving a podium finish in two of them.
However, no one has been able to replicate the feat in recent history, but many have dreamed of it. Lewis Hamilton was one of those who dreamed, much to the dismay of Jorge Lorenzo.
Who is the greater rider?
Nick Harris recalls how furious Jorge Lorenzo was over Lewis Hamilton’s wish to test a MotoGP bike
On a recent episode of the Racing Back podcast, legendary MotoGP commentator Nick Harris recalled Jorge Lorenzo’s fury at the prospect of Lewis Hamilton testing a premier class prototype.
He said, “I got Marc Marquez on the BBC. I think it was when he rode the Honda over the Wibbly Wobbly Bridge, over the River Thames, which was fantastic.
“And their story was that he was interested in going car racing in Formula 1. I mean, I think they’d asked the question, ‘Would you like to do Formula 1?’
“And he said, ‘Oh, yeah, it would be interesting, wouldn’t it?’ And Lewis Hamilton always said he wanted to ride a MotoGP bike, didn’t he?
“It used to infuriate Lorenzo! ‘He can’t even ride a scooter properly!’ Jorge used to get into a right old titter.”
Harris’ co-host, Julian Ryder, added, “Then, when Lewis Hamilton did test ride a Grand Prix bike with Valentino, he was respectable!”
As alluded to by Ryder, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion got his wish in 2019, when he took part in a seat swap with his MotoGP counterpart, Valentino Rossi.
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff had to greenlight the excursion and was left irked at how quickly the British driver found his feet on two wheels.
It was reported that Hamilton was just four seconds off MotoGP lap times at the Jerez circuit.
Nick Harris also recalled Sir Frank Williams’ fury after Mick Doohan crashed one of his Formula 1 cars in a private test
Harris continued by sharing another story about a proposed seat swap between two world champions in their respective categories of motorsport.
This one featured the five-time premier class champion, Mick Doohan, and the 1997 Formula world champion, Jacques Villeneuve.
Harris said, “I’ve told you the story that I fixed up for Mick Doohan when he was world champion, for him to drive the Williams car in Barcelona.
“And Jack Villeneuve, who was the world champion, was going to come and ride the bike. Well, Williams in the end wouldn’t let him ride the bike, but Mick did drive the car, and he did about £60,000 worth of damage when he crashed into the wall.
“I had to go and see Sir Frank, and he asked, ‘Who organised all this?’ I had to tell him it was me, and he was not too pleased.”
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