Luca Badoer fails to impress in Spanish Grand Prix

Felipe Massa was struck by a spring from Barichello’s car during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July and this led to events I described in a previous article (Interesting times in Formula One). We all accepted with glee, the news that Michael Schumacher would return to the team and the series which brought him worldwide fame. The news travelled faster than any of the cars on the grid, but our joyful expressions were replaced with masks of disappointment quicker than any of Michael Schumacher’s mindboggling qualifying laps, when it was revealed that the comeback would not materialize. Schumacher’s return was called off, but when the door closed for Schumacher, one was opened for Luca Badoer.

Luca Badoer

Luca Badoer is no stranger to Formula One. He made his debut in Formula One in 1993 (Lola Ferrari) and since 1997 he has been the official test driver for Scuderia Ferrari. For those who argue that there is a significant difference between testing and racing a Formula One car, Luca Badoer’s Spanish Grand Prix performance provided more than enough evidence to fuel that flame. In a Formula One season which does not allow testing, Luca Badoer was destined to have a difficult time.

Unpreparedness

At the end of qualifying, Luca Badoer was relaxing comfortably in the final position, 20th on the grid. He was almost 2 seconds behind the leaders. Incredible, is one word which comes to mind to describe his lack of performance. In a clear display of his unpreparedness for the monumental task, during the Spanish Grand Prix, Luca Badoer pulled over in the pit lane to allow one of the Renault cars to pass and when he was exiting the pits, he crossed the pit- out line and was penalized. Michael Schumacher’s displeasure was obvious on the pit wall. Luca Badoer’s only consolation was the fact that he improved his position on the grid (when compared to qualifying) – he was 17th! The Tifosi will have something to say about this and it will not be pretty!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-line Writer