Luca Badoer Finally Gets Ferrari Drive

[inimitablestoo]

Has he actually done any racing since he last appeared for Minardi? I wish Luca all the best but get the feeling Ferrari may make another change before season's end if he proves not to be on the pace.

[pitscar]

Not sure why Luca over Gene, given Gene's LeMans seat time and performance.

Plus the facts that:
-he is now the oldest driver in the current WDC (38)
-he holds the record for most starts with no points (48/0)

Oh well. Like said above, they're basically getting a few thousand kms of free testing. I'm sure his feedback skills far outweigh Massa's.

[pino]

I highly doubt it that he will manage to score many points if any.

Why is that ? He knows that car more than anybody else, and if he will survive the first 3/4 laps he can finish on points. OK maybe not in Valencia but he can do that in the next race again. Go Luca

[driveace]

Best of luck to the guy,and lets judge him when he has finished the race .

[race_director]

I know all the Schumi fans will have been crying into their cereal this morning at the news that Schumi won't be coming back after all (though at least it was a perfectly legitimate reason - remember kids, motor bikes are ludicrously dangerous!) but there is a bright side to this, Luca Badoer finally gets the Ferrari ride that be should have had 10 years ago in the aftermath of Schumi breaking his leg at Silverstone. At that time for a reason that I still find puzzling they went with Mika Salo, never a top draw driver in F1, more a journeyman driver, rather than a test driver who was race fresh (Luca was competing with Minardi in '99) and knew the car inside out. I thought at the time it made little sense and whilst Salo did a reasonable job of supporting Eddie Irvine's championship bid, I felt that Badoer was cheated out of a Ferrari drive that was rightly his.

Also it will be a novelty, an Italian driving a Ferrari, the last time that happened was 1992 when Ivan Capelli drove for the team (though it can be argued that Jean Alesi could claim Italian heritage but alas he was French).

well LUCA is part of ferrari family for a long time . we accept with open arms and pray for his sucess with same dedication we do for MS/Massa/KIMI

At end of the day its not a normal racing teams. TS FERRARI

[ioan]

Why is that ? He knows that car more than anybody else...

Really? He never drove the F60! Luca's last test of a F1 car dates back to last year.

Making statements is a great thing, pino, but just for the sake of writing something?

[CNR]

Q: how far along is the 2010 cars would they be at a testing stage and could the official test driver done a few miles in it

http://www.forumula1.net/2009/f1/f1-...e-luca-badoer/

The Italian has a strong track record against the clock at Mugello and Fiorano and his ability to develop a car is second to none; he was instrumental to Ferrari’s revival in the early millennium and he was a key player in the team that Jean Todt assembled to bring about this turnaround.

[race_director]

Q: how far along is the 2010 cars would they be at a testing stage and could the official test driver done a few miles in it

http://www.forumula1.net/2009/f1/f1-...e-luca-badoer/

we still are in 2009 and the 2010 car IMO will be ready at end NOV . and i thing that the new rules says that the car can be tested after the end of this year.

There is also some 1 month cmpulsory shut down for all teams.

most likely all teams will test the new can in JAN 2010

[Rollo]

I highly doubt it that he will manage to score many points if any.

So you really don't think that a car which has finished 14 from 19 starts, driven by the driver who's put more miles on it than anyone else, and has probably driven more miles in an F1 car than anyone else in history is up to the task, despite saying this:

it's at least as good as the 2005 Ferrari.

So are you saying that it's the car or the driver who's rubbish?

I'm willing to bet that Luca in the first decent drive in his career is likely to outscore Kimi for the remainder of the season. Dare I suggest he might even take a win... that'd be a turn up for the books.

[VkmSpouge]

Not sure why Luca over Gene, given Gene's LeMans seat time and performance.

Plus the facts that:
-he is now the oldest driver in the current WDC (38)
-he holds the record for most starts with no points (48/0)

Though I don't think he can be blamed for scoring 0 points in his F1 career having driven for Scuderia Italia when they used that awful Lola, Forti and Minardi. The closest he came was at Nurburgring in 1999 where he would have been rewarded with a handsome 4th place if his car had not broken down. He was also close in San Marino 1993 where he finished 7th.