Luca Badoer - funny stuff from the web

I've turned more than a few laps in anger in my life, and while it is at a level way below anything like F1, I believe that it does not take very long to get up to speed with a new car or a new track. After a few laps, you pretty much know the track. And the car. Gains beyond that are minimal.

I think my own observations from my experience in race cars is proven by a review of similar metrics in F1. When have we EVER seen a driver come into F1 and be at the back of the field, then "get some more experience" and suddenly get to the front of the field (absent of car changes, I mean)???

I can't think of when that's ever happened, actually.

If you're just snail slow, then you're just slow... no amount of practice is going to make a guy who is 2+ seconds off the pace speed up and get competitive.

It had nothing to do with Badoer's lack of seat time or his lack of recent race experience. He's just slow. He sucks as a race car driver. He just doesn't have "it". And he'll never develop it, no matter how much time he puts in with the car. Maybe he'd pick up a tenth or two per lap with significantly more seat time... that's great, so he'd be 1.8 seconds off the pace instead of 2 seconds. Wouldn't make a difference.

The extent of his suckiness as a driver is such that no amount of seat time and experience could possible overcome it.

That's just how it is.

 

A) Absolutely, he was woefully unprepared to be competitive at that level! I don't think any other test driver that would have been called up from the other teams would have done any better.

B) Hard for me to comment on Ferrari's decision making process. They have been known to make a strange decision or two. I'm not sure what contractural agreements these "other more qualified folks" were in. Many here think that they could of just jumped in and driven for Ferrari on a very short notice.

The only thing I can say from an average guys point of view is that, I liked the fact that Ferrari gave Luca a chance rather than go out and spend big money on someone else to jump in, in a lost season. They put the man who has believed in the company first over money (Bernie's Golden POT). A lot of companies out there should take a notice!
The same thing goes for Fisi. This is a guy who would give up his right arm to drive for Ferrari...and now he'll get his chance...and keep his right arm too, how sweet is that

 

Remember how negative people were about Massa, not that long ago?

(Of course, youth isn't Badoer's issue.)

I'm sure Luca would have made a better showing without the testing ban. He wasn't sure of himself out there, and it showed ... nay, glared.

But, based on his previous racing experience, I doubt even with testing that he'd have been a front runner.

Felipe has become a hard act to follow.

 

Hey fellas, I started this thread as a way of consolidating all the Luca jokes in one place. I didn't expect it to become another debate on the wisdom of letting Luca have a go in the Ferrari.
I too was on the Kemmel straight at Spa. The speed of all the cars except one was amazing. I like Luca. I liked him when he was an F1 driver, and I think he played a vital role in the glory days of Ferrari/Schumacher Championship years. I would still love to see some of the best Luca jokes.

 

'Luc how bad oe are'

 

As I mentioned the season isn't lost as real WCC money is at stake.

Before we put Ferrari on a pedastal for other companies to look at, we should remember that back in 1999 they did exactly the opposite: BADoer was their reserve driver then and they went outside to get Salo as MS replacement. Now they merely made up for that.

I agree with that and I'm very happy for Fisichella. Problem is, why didn't they think of that transfer earlier? Also would it have been such an elegant transition without Fisico's stunning performance at Spa?
The irony is, that LdM's misguided "Italians first" approach, which led to the BADoer fiasco, ultimately gave the Italian Fisichella the chance he always wanted.

BTW: Interesting little tidbit:
Fisichella did a shootout test for Ferrari in the mid nineties against F1 racing greats like Morbidelli, Martini and BADoer. And the team chose BADoer. Funny, isn't it?

 

And that is the main problem...and explains the Rossi bit..sheer madness.

I agree with the rest of your posts on this matter as well.

 

+1

 

Andreas, he has some valid points.

 

Felipe does come to mind but he was never really backmarker... he was just average. Did he improve rapidly over his first season with MS? I thought he was as bad at the end as at the beginning?

The car was much better (and Kimi sucking didn't hurt in making him look good) the following year.

I just can't think that Badoer was going to get better with more seat time.

Like Andreas said, I don't feel bad for the guy - he drives Ferraris for a living

 

His first year, Felipe had a lot of situations that made him look worse than he was.

For example, in that wet Hungarian GP that everyone kept bringing up, Massa was on the wrong tires pretty much the whole race.

A #2 driver to Schumi would wind up doing a bunch of the "try this and see" work on strategy changes, so Schumi could use only the ideas that worked for the other car. Much the way Renault would switch Piquet to slicks and, if he didn't spin off in the first half lap, Alonso would know to change from inters.

Nobody had the feel for the car like Shumi at his peak, but Massa wasn't as bad as he looked in '06. (And if you're just going by results, Felipe did, after all, finish that Hungarian GP ahead of Schumi.)

Now that I think of it, Felipe has had nothing but bad experiences at the Hungaroring in red cars. He had that disastrous wet race in '06, was outside the points in '07, had that heartbreaking engine failure in '08, and then the spring in the helmet in '09. Perhaps a gypsy curse in action?

 

And you would have said no?

 

If you were in the other Ferrari I might have considered it, then for sure I wouldn't have shown myself up!...

 

Of course not and I can't fault him for that. But his rahrah talk after Spa was annoying. That it is bizarre to can him for Monza where he will drive into the points. Yeah right. He wouldn't drive into the points if they held a GP in Fiorano.

 

At least I'd fit in the car

 

Now this is funny, although not intentionally:

Well I suppose that at Monza he might have not been last which would have been an improvement. If the media forced Ferrari to dump Badoer then well done to the media I say!

 

You really have done a 180 on BADoer, haven't you?

I'm not sure he wouldn't have been last at Monza either for the following reasons:

- Ferrari as it is will probably not win/dominate Monza (we'll see in a week)
- his "advantage" of knowing the track very well is relative and a small one since it is such an easy track to learn
- so ceteris paribus we're back where we were at Spa and Valencia

In a way Ferrari did him a favor: He can now maintain that fantasy that he would have been doing better in Monza and rode into the points (as he stated in an interview). Sometimes it is better to live on with a fantasy than the brutal reality confirmed.

 

In other words if you step up to the plate you better make sure your really really good enough.

 

There are lots of actors that have stepped in front of a camera before they were ready and they will never get the chance again...like Badoer their dismal performance has been permanently (not to mention publicly) recorded forever.

Any time their name comes up it is mentioned with derision...poor BADoer's been branded...


Eurosport - Mon, 07 Sep 12:21:00 2009

"Those who write don't understand how much harm they can cause. The media played a fundamental role in the decision to replace me," said the 38-year-old, who has failed to score a point in 51 grand prix starts.

With the English-speaking media dubbing Badoer "Look How Bad You Are", Ferrari moved to replace him before their home Italian Grand Prix at Monza next weekend.

...

What BADoer refuses to admit (at least publicly) is that HE is responsible for losing his ride due to his unacceptable lack of performance...either that or he needs to put the crack pipe down!

 

Yes I have. I never seriously thought he would be on the pace, but I like the guy and I remember seeing him collapsed in tears on his Minardi in 1999 when he nearly got into the points. I soooooo wanted him to score a point.
At Valencia he was poor, but it was a new track and he'd had very little seat time. At Spa he had no excuses and any sympathy evaporated. If I saw him now I'd buy him a beer, but I'm glad he is no longer wasting a seat in F1.

 

While the media has ruined more than one career I think poor Luca's is not one of them.

 

Here's a post from one of my friends on a MINI forum:

Oh well...

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Well I'll toss my head in the fire one more time as a continued Luca Badoer supporter. It is my opinion that Ferrari was right in giving Luca 2 weekends as a driver.

The first it was fair to ask for patience as it was a new track, 10 years of no racing (a BIG deal compared to the rookies), and no testing. That said although qualifying last, he ran the whole race without major drama and racked up some racing miles under his belt. It could have gone MUCH MUCH worse so I think he did a solid if not spectacular job.

The second weekend was the one to perform in. As it was his competitveness picked up (remember SPA is much longer than other GP tracks so the gaps are always bigger) but still not enough to be a threat. Combine that with a track that REALLY rewards confidence in the car and a teammate who has recently decided to wake up and that was it for Luca.

Truthfully another weekend would have been charity. We of course are not at all privy to what Luca was told or promised by Ferrari so it is impossible for us to make an informed opinion on his comments regarding Monza. For sure it would be his best shot of the season to do well however I slight no one in the decision to replace him.

What I do have an issue with (and I am sure this post will do little to change anything) is in the strong opinions about his performance. Most of them are wholly uninformed and are just aimed at poking fun at someone. In life I have learned that it is better to say less and do more as well as look at the source of a comment before giving it any weight. As an example the poster who mentionned he could only get a clear photo of Luca at the end of the Kemmel straight should check the speed traps as Luca was consistently among the fastest there all weekend. There were predictions of crashes, dangererous driving, being laps behind and NONE of this happened. There were a few little things here and there but nothing that was predicted by our illustrious panel of experts.

The only thing I saw was a driver with no real reputation to tarnish and little relavent preparation, get the dream fufilled of being an F1 driver for Ferrari and complete 2 full Grand Prix distances. Time for a little perspective guys.

 

I can strongly recommend that you give these podcasts a listen. My son and I had a great time listening to the 'Luca Comeback Special' on the way to Spa and I have enjoyed listening to the new podcast today. Have a listen and see what you think: http://www.f1rejects.com/podcasts/index.html

 

Speaking of perspective....

1) Luca DID crash at Spa, I was there and witnessed the qualifying being stopped because of it!

2) He was about as close as you can get to being lapped. Spa is a very long track, which is why the race is 44 laps instead of 80 or so laps. And Kimi was only a few seconds behind. Kimi was catching Luca at 5+ seconds per lap, then suddenly Luca picked up speed and was only giving up 3 seconds per lap to Kimi. It is clear he was told that he was about to become the first driver ever to get lapped at Spa, and to PUT HIS FOOT DOWN.

3) How could Valencia have gone "much much worse"??? He came in dead last. In a Ferrari! It doesn't get much worse, short of crashing (which he did in Spa)

4) How do you figure his competitiveness picked up? He was last in Spa too! It's not like he was suddenly running with the leaders, he wasn't... he was still seconds off the pace.

5) He did finish a lap behind at Valencia, and almost at Spa... how do you figure the predictions of crashes and being lapped were wrong, when both of those things did in fact happen?