Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari chief and FOTA chairman, said that long-time tester Luca Badoer will get a chance to show his stuff at Valencia in place of Felipe Massa. This news came on the heels of an announcement by Michael Schumacher that he will not be returning to F1 in place of the injured Massa.
The F1 world was abuzz at the news of Schumacher’s return and much was being made of his penchant for winning and the battle against the young guns of F1. Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Button, Barrichello…oh, wait…Rubens is no spring chicken by F1’s standards.
Many wanted Schumacher to return while others seemed cautious or nonplussed with the news. Either way, the return of Schumacher was a massive news and PR event. Perhaps the PR overshadowed the reality as exclusively revealed by F1B’s Grace on podcast #119. No one was more disappointed that di Montezemolo…well, maybe me:
“I am very unhappy that a problem means that Michael cannot return to racing.
“In the past few days, I could appreciate his great efforts and extraordinary motivation which had spread through the team and fans around the world. No doubt his return would have been good for Formula 1 and I am sure it would have seen him fighting for wins again.
“In the name of Ferrari and all the fans, I wish to thank him for the strong attachment he displayed for the team in these circumstances.
“In agreement with Stefano Domenicali, we have therefore decided to give Luca Badoer the chance to race for the Scuderia after he has put in so many years of hard work as a test driver.”
So what do we know about Luca Badoer? Well, he is 38-years-old, has been a test driver for Ferrari since 1998 and last drove in an F1 race for Minardi in 1999. Autosport thought you might like to know who he is and “exclusively” ran a little primer story about him here.
Luca has been a stalwart for Ferrari and his contribution is unparalleled. Only one person knows as much as he does regarding Ferrari and their cars and that person is Schumacher. Badoer will do well and having their tester in the car will certainly be a good move to help develop the 2010 car. Badoer will get first hand knowledge of the 2009 regulations and be able to juxtapose that with what he tested in the Winter Season. he will be a good addition to Ferrari’s stable and a worthy replacement for Felipe Massa. He may not be Schumacher but Ferrari have the luxury of having Luca Badoer and Marc Gene to choose from.
Okay Grace, is this a PR stunt too? ;)
