Having clinched both the constructors' championship and, through Michael Schumacher, the drivers' championship at the weekend, Ferrari's pursuit of success continued yesterday when they offered the motorcycling world champion Valentino Rossi the chance to test drive for the team.
The 24-year-old Honda rider won his third consecutive MotoGP title on Sunday, prompting the
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo to offer him a chance to try life in formula one.
"A serious test, no joking," Montezemolo said. "It's always been difficult going from two to four wheels, and it is even harder today... but Valentino is a great champion."
It is 50 years since an Italian won a world championship in a Ferrari, Alberto Ascari having achieved the feat in 1952 and 1953. But Rossi has been approached by several formula one teams in the past and has always declared rally driving to be a more likely first step on four wheels.
The five-times world champion - he won the 125cc championship in 1997 and the 250cc in 1999 - has yet to agree an extension to his contract with Honda, sparking speculation that he may be open to offers.
The move is not entirely without precedent - Britain's John Surtees won the 500cc world motorcycling championship four times in the late 50s and early 60s before moving on to claim the formula one title for Ferrari in 1964.
Jenson Button has been identified as the man to take BAR-Honda into a new era after they ended a troubled season by finishing fifth in the constructors' championship. The Briton and his new team-mate Takuma Sato finished fourth and sixth in Sunday's Japanese grand prix, prompting the team principal David Richards to identify him as the team's new leader.
"I just feel that Jenson is feeling, 'I've got to step up to the plate now, I'm the one who's going to lead this team.' That's going to put a lot of weight on his shoulders, but I believe he is up to it and that's going to change his approach as well," said Richards.
"I think he is really waking up to the fact that the potential is there, the team believes in him and we will deliver the car for him to do the job next season."
Richards believes the 23-year-old Button will benefit now that Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion, has left the team. Villeneuve withdrew from the final race at Suzuka, to be replaced by Sato, after being told that he would be replaced for 2004. He had begun a feud at the start of the season by describing Button as "weak" and likening him to a member of a boy band.
Many at BAR were breathing a quiet sigh of relief after Sunday's result, which came at the end of a trying season marred by too many technical failures. In particular it will have come as a major boost to Honda on its home ground at a time when questions had been asked at high levels within the company about the car maker's long-term formula one strategy. "It was almost like a fairy tale unfolding in front of us," said Richards of the race.
Eddie Jordan is reported to have offered Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen a spot in his team next season, despite having controversially fired the German in the middle of the 2001 season. Frentzen, whose contract with Sauber has not been renewed, has also been linked with Jaguar.
valentino rossi offered test drive for ferrari F1 
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