Williams F1 driver Mark Webber has said he feels Valentino Rossi is 'quite brave' to be joining the upcoming group test in Spain next week.

Ferrari confirmed on Thursday that the MotoGP ace would join Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa at Valencia – with the test marking the first time that the Italian will have completed an F1 test in public.

Although he has driven an F1 machine on a number of occasions, those tests have always been in private sessions on Ferrari circuits back in Italy, but the 26-year-old will now be out on track alongside a number of leading F1 drivers with McLaren, Toyota, Williams, BMW Sauber and Honda all scheduled to test.

With that in mind, Webber said it was a brave decision from Rossi to join the test, although he admitted the reigning MotoGP champion – who has been continually linked with a switch to four wheels – could well spring a surprise.

"He's quite brave, really, to come in and share the circuit with the rest of us," Webber was quoted by Reuters as telling reporters during the launch of the new Williams FW28. "The guy has obviously got unbelievable talent, we know that, and he definitely knows which way is up. But to throw him out there on the track with the rest of us...who knows? He's always done surprises so who knows how he will go?.

"The guys who have been racing for a while are normally not that keen to have guys who don't have that much experience around. But it's not like this guy we had in Budapest last year [Chanoch Nissany in the Minardi], that was a joke, like playing Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in the first round."

Rossi has been tipped as a possible replacement for Michael Schumacher at Ferrari when the German elects to hang up his helmet.