It is my opinion that the substitute driver for Ferrari should be their test driver Luca Badoer. Back in 1999 when Schumacher broke his leg in Silverstone, Ferrari chose an outsider of the Ferrari family Mika Salo to sub as it was felt that his speed would be an asset to a team that was fighting for the constructors championship. I remember that Luca Badoer at the time felt pretty hard done as he was the test driver and part of his role was to act as a sub for a sick or injured driver. Fast forward 10 years and again a Ferrari driver will be out for some races. The difference being that this year Ferrari is not fighting for anything and with development on the 2009 car pretty much stopped, they have already conceded the season. It is for this reason that I believe that a long established member of the Ferrari team should be allowed at least one race in red as a means of respect and retribution for being overlooked in 99. He is plenty fast, has GP experience and deserves to hold the title of 'Grand prix driver for Ferrari'. Despite the zillions of testing laps he has done in a Ferrari F1 there is no substitute for taking a green flag in one of the red machines.
Badoer has been really *really* bad in every race he's been in, hasn't he? Didn't he fail to qualify several times? IMO, a good test driver doesn't mean a good race driver. Badoer has been the former for so many years and it's not an accident.
I tend to agree. Luca's long-time loyalty alone earns him points in my book and getting the nod would make me feel good about the "Familia Scuderia", if nothing else. He's obviously got the skills but, at his age, he isn't threatening to Massa. Felipe's family and fans would see and probably appreciate that. If he didn't perform after a race or two, well, there's other choices. But as a short-term solution for a team in a tough spot, I'd put Badoer in the seat and let him have his day.
I would agree that sentiment and loyalty have little to do with driving an F1 car. Heck I have been loyal to Ferrari for 40 years and they haven't done squat for me ;-) But let's consider that Badoer is a great test driver and what they should be turning the rest of the season into - one big test in preparation for next year - is what they should be focused on now more than ever.
While morally Badoer would deserve a chance, he really doesn't have what it takes. He never had it in fact and now he is old on top of that. Badoer should be happy that he enjoys one of the coolest jobs in the world and gets paid royally for it.
+1. Ferrari have made some odd decisions about their (test) drivers. I honestly don't know why they hired Badoer and Luciano Burti (albeit for 1 season only), and to an extend Felipe Massa.
All agreed. There were others undeserving of the prancing horse. Larini comes to mind. How long until somebody suggests Rossi?
Hey guys, what about Rossi? Points well taken re: Badoer. I'd love to see him get another shot but he may not have it. Marc Gene would probably be a first choice, though I'm not sure Ferrari seem truly keen on either of them. The statements so far don't seem enthusiastic about their test pilots.
This one is a long shot but what about the disgruntled Rubens??? He is ticked off at Brawn He might just tell Ross to F#$@ OFF and offer to sub for his fallen countryman.
Giovanardi Another "test driver" Ferrari once used. In reality they gave him a chance at testing the their F1 car after he won some Italian touring championship. He was officially a test driver and drove the car up and down a straight. But hey, that's all Alguersuari did and it got him a super license.
Spare me the sob story...he is a Formula One test driver for Ferrari. Boo hoo, so what if he never gets a race drive. He's got my dream job!
There's a major practical issue that will largely determine how this goes. Ferrari are looking for a driver for what, one race, a few races, the rest of the season, permanently? Nobody yet knows, and that's a big problem in terms of who they would want and who they'd be able to get. If it's a short term thing none of the top drivers is going to jump ship, they'll only do that if the the drive is going to be available next year.
FANTASTIC news and my hopes were answered. Badoer will officially be a 'Ferrari Formula 1 Driver'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well deserved.
He is certainly going to make look Kimi good. I wonder how many laps he will last. My guess is he causes an accident in lap 1.
+eleventy. I was talking to my brother about this today and he was wondering why Badoer stuck around Ferrari so long. I figure he's got a great job - probably doesn't need to work too hard, and what work he does do is flying around the world with VIP access to F1 races, and getting paid to thrash F1 cars and road cars. And I bet he gets paid pretty well for it (probably north of a couple hundred thousand euros per year, if not more). Oh, and the off-chance of an occasional racing drive in an F1 car. Not a bad job at all.. only requirement is you've gotta be willing to "know your role".
If he finishes, I will be amazed. If he finishes without spinning or crashing into someone, I will be shocked. If he finishes in the points, I will be speechless. If he podiums, I will have a stroke.
Badoer competed in F-1 a number of years ago- in the 90's. Hopefully, he's gotten better by working at Fiorano and with the Scuderia. Would have liked to have seen a more exciting replacement driver!
It is my opinion that a lot of the views expressed towards Luca Badoer are way off base. 1. The job of a test driver is not a walk in the park and is more difficult and dangerous (albeit way less prestegious) than that of a race driver. Historically more drivers have been killed in testing than in races; this is FACT. Test drivers cover LOTS of miles at the limit which is the only way to get good technical feedback. When you calculate the number of miles a test driver does in the face of danger they are at much greater risk. Also they have the lousy job of going to each race helmet in hand to sub for a sick driver. For a racing driver the mental abuse here is huge especially for a guy like Badoer who has been at it for 10 years. 2. Badoer's F1 career was respectable given the terrible cars he had to drive. Minardi, Forte Corse, and Scuderia Italia were always bearly quailifying last place cars. Badoer quite regularily outperformed his teammates and came incredibly close to scoring points on a few occasions save some mechanical failures. Performances like that are near miracles in the cars he was driving. 3. Badoer's age plays no role in how competitive he can be. Physically and mentally a driver of Badoer's experience and preparation are every match for someone in their mid 20's. It is not until your mid 40's that age starts to take over. Again this is fact as I have studied the physiology of racing drivers in great detail over the past 15 years. The basic qualities that make a driver great has not changed in the last 100 years even if the cars have. Fangio was WC for the 1st time at 40 and last at 47 beating drivers in their 20's. I am not saying that Badoer should be given a full time GP seat or that he is the next hot thing. He should be a solid reserve driver capable of scoring points. Replacing an injured driver is part of his job description and he should be allowed to do his job (ie. that is him 'knowing his role'). Lets see how he does.
Agreed on #1 and #2. #3 I disagree, age does play a role. A guy like MS can make up for that by being super fit and super experienced and super talented. Badoer has none of those. The worst part however is, that Badoer hasn't raced in 10 years! His racecraft is long gone. He barely knows anybody out there and I'm not even sure how familiar he is with the F60 as Massa and Kimi probably did most of the testing and development. It is a nice gesture of Ferrari, but not a serious one: They showed what they think of Badoer back in 1999 when they didn't use him (while he was still fresh out of a cockpit) and used Salo instead. Problem is, that there would have been better choices. I'm no fan of Marc Gene, but I bet he'd do better.
The age thing we can agree to disagree. I agree that the Badoer being overlooked in 99 was more a barometer of what Ferrari thought of him and that this is a token jesture. IMO it is not too late for them to show some respect to Badoer and allow him the title of 'Grand Prix Driver for Ferrari'. Putting anyone else in would be complete disrespect to him and would call BS on any 'family' and 'respect' comments LDM makes about the Ferrari Team. As for his racecraft I'm sure he will be fine. Yes he is not farm fresh but he is a professional with lots of experience. To call him terrible and a danger is premature. Again I remind everyone of Nicola Larini at San Marino in 94. A good solid podium finish by a under rated driver in a really bad car.
