Pecco Bagnaia wishes to have Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi’s ‘strongest weapon’

2022 MotoGP champion Francesco 'Pecco' Bagnaia looks to Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi for inspiration. The Italian rider started off the 2023 MotoGP season with a bang, winning the season opener in Portugal.

Bagnaia claims he looks to F1 for inspiration from drivers such as Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. The 26-year-old admires the seven-time F1 world champion's 'serenity', which he claims has allowed him to 'be himself' in the often toxic world of top-level sport.

The Italian also looks up to MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi as one of his biggest idols in the sport. He believes Hamilton and Rossi have a similar 'serenity' which is admirable to the Ducati Lenovo rider.

Speaking about the two world champions in their respective sports, Pecco said of Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi:

“Lewis is an extremely influential character and has always had that serenity which has allowed him to do what he wants, not always being politically correct. I think it’s his strongest weapon, as it was for Valentino. Both have always felt free to be themselves.”

The 2022 MotoGP champion also dreams of swapping rides with Charles Leclerc's Ferrari in the future. It will be interesting to see the two racers switch machinery as Hamilton did with Valentino Rossi.

Lewis Hamilton claims MotoGP is riskier than F1

Lewis Hamilton claims MotoGP is riskier than F1, citing the sport's lack of seatbelts as a possible cause. The seven-time world champion sat down with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi to discuss the differences and similarities between the two sports.

For decades, motorsport enthusiasts have debated which sport is superior, using various metrics to support their arguments. However, Lewis Hamilton has refrained from weighing in on this discussion and instead stated that MotoGP is significantly more perilous than F1 due to the absence of seatbelts and safety gear.

F1 has made significant strides in improving its safety protocols in recent years. While the sport undoubtedly still poses risks, it is noteworthy that only one driver (Jules Bianchi) has passed away on track since the tragic death of Ayrton Senna in 1994.

Speaking to MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, Lewis Hamilton said:

"I have to look at the steering wheel to realize how fast I'm going. You don't really feel like you're doing anything over 300km/h, you're very used to that, but when you're on a bike, you feel like you're going fast, it's an exciting experience."

"I think MotoGP is more risky, they don't have belts, when they have an accident, it's very strong. It's very difficult for them to improve safety, so the fear factor is always there,"

The two racing legends swapped rides in 2019, with the Briton sampling that year's Yamaha MotoGP bike and Rossi tackling the 2017 Mercedes F1 car. Both legends discussed the various intricacies of operating opposite machinery but shared a common passion for fast machines.