Luca Badoer

[JackN]

Come on. What is he doing in F1?? I just do not understand why he is driving. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but this could cost Ferrari positions in the constructors championship, therefore millions of pounds.

I just dont understand why he is driving!!

[ASCII Man]

Call Ferrari and offer your services.
I'm sure you would do a much better job.

[JeremySmith]

Okay well thank you for your thoughts, and welcome to the forum...JackN

Please read this..http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82104

[Super Hans]

Ferrari wanted somone in-house to replace Massa for reasons of data secrecy or whatnot. Schumacher was their strongest option but was unfit to race. So basically it boiled down to a choice between Badoer & Marc Gene. Thus far Badoer has not been up to the job.

[Peter Mallett]

The thing about being a mod is that you can post in locked threads. That being so it would be unfair to other posters if they didn't get an opportunity Super Hans . Be aware though that we will not tolerate any bashing etc.

The question is valid really. Whilst Ferari wanted an in house driver I'm not sure either Badoer or Gene, both of whom were generally poor in their earlier careers, should have been considered. There are drivers out there with no particular allegience who could fulfil the role and no doubt these are discussed in the other thread so I won't mention names here.

As a business case this just does not stack up. Ferrari need points they don't need the sympathy vote. So why did they choose him?

[Super Hans]

Sorry, I was unaware that it was still locked.

[WapFlap]

Well Badoer is still an excellent development driver. Otherwise the Scuderia would have sacked him a long time ago. Maybe they let him drive just to find the flaws in the F60's design. An other option is that Ferrari is testing already new parts for next year on this years car and don't want an external driver to see that parts.

Or they just wanted to say thank you for his 10 years of testing service... but that sounds a bit odd to me.

[Super Hans]

I actually think he'll go better at Spa. He's been pounding round Fiorano and Mugello for the last ten years. The much-reduced margin of error involved in a street circuit may have spooked him a little.

[WapFlap]

Maybe Hans, but you can't ignore the small mistakes in the pitlane. I am glad they give him another chance because I think he can do more than he did in Valencia (thats not quite hard is it...). I hope we will see the real Luca Badoer racing soon.

[Marbot]

Data secrecy? When it comes to data secrecy it's not really the drivers that Ferrari need to keep their eye on.

If Bourdais or Piquet drove for another team in the future they are hardly likely to keep their mouths shut about what they were able to find out about their car.Similarly if Kimi goes to another team (or any other driver for that matter) then the same would apply to him.

[Dead-Eye]

Bill Thomas made a good point on topgear.com:

Yeah, OK, Luca Badoer was ‘hapless’ in Valencia, but all his performance did for me was to highlight just how amazing F1 drivers are – all of them.

Badoer is a god of driving by most mortal standards, and is obviously pretty fit because he got all the way to the end… but in a car capable of third, he finished dead last.

[MagnetON]

We aren't party to all the facts, so here's a totally hypothetical little theory.......

Badoer has a contract as a Ferrari test driver.
His contract says that he will be "first" stand in for either of the main drivers if required, with ongoing status subject to a performance clause.
Massa gets injured.
MS is approached to act as stand in.
Ferrari (and Bernie?, may as well get him in!) figure that the extra publicity etc. is easily worth more than they have to pay Badoer to step aside.
MS is unfit, so now it's easier to have Badoer have one race in the seat and then boot him for Spa onwards under the performance clause.

[Super Hans]

Originally Posted by MagnetON

We aren't party to all the facts, so here's a totally hypothetical little theory.......

Badoer has a contract as a Ferrari test driver.
His contract says that he will be "first" stand in for either of the main drivers if required, with ongoing status subject to a performance clause.
Massa gets injured.
MS is approached to act as stand in.
Ferrari (and Bernie?, may as well get him in!) figure that the extra publicity etc. is easily worth more than they have to pay Badoer to step aside.
MS is unfit, so now it's easier to have Badoer have one race in the seat and then boot him for Spa onwards under the performance clause.

Forum rules state that if you tell a hypothetical story involving Ferrari, you must pretend you got it direct from friend in Maranello.

[Peter Mallett]

..................................or the bloke in the Dorking Copy Shop.

[jab]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Noble on Twitter

Luca Badoer fun continues. He doesn't have his pass so has had to argue his way through the gates

Nothing's going right for this guy at the moment. The paddock hacks have even nicknamed him "Look How Bad You Are"

[chillibowl]

i've done several turns on what my impression of this whole mess is, but the amount of time Ferrari had between MS pulling out and the start of the race weekend did not really leave them with any other choice but to use one of their testers.

they could have taken an unknown, a rookie, a driver out of an F1 ride but any of those choices would have been subject to the same concerns and fears as putting LB in. Ultimately they went with the next person of the list who was most familiar with the car, their development cycle, and team.

at first i was almost ashamed for Ferrari for taking what looked to be a very unsporting and silly decision, but the more i think about it, i am actually very impressed how they are as a team sticking together, supporting LB, and maintaining harmony within the team all while sitting in a very bright and public spotlight. and in the end i hope this kind of support only helps LB make a better go of it in Spa.

this is imo an example of how a good team should be run.

[djinvicta]

Hang on! This is cut throat F1 GP! Not, Nursery School! Dont give Luca a drive in case he cries in the corner! They need to get someone in it to drive the thing as it should be driven, to jolt KR back to his senses and earn points in the Championship.

[chillibowl]

im not sure about how many drivers out there would make Kimi feel as though he is under pressure.
although having LB there (obviously not doing well) left Kimi in charge of getting any points and guess what, he drove a fantastic race. maybe one of his best all season.

cut throat - come on. F1 is in some serious trouble if the definition of cut throat is putting Fisi in the car instead of LB

[JackN]

I'm glad this thread was re-opened. It was not meant as Badoer Bashing, simply as an important discussion regarding the outcome of this seasons constructors championship.

Gene scored points on his sub runs at Williams only a couple of years ago, I am very surprised he was not given the drive.

I hope Badoer improves in Spa, I really do, but new track/new car is not enough to justify being 3 seconds off your teammate.

[deeks6]

Badoer is spelt S-L-O-W

[TheMong]

i got to admit it is painful to watch

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by TheMong

i got to admit it is painful to watch

You get the feeling from the onboard shots that if he tries any harder (and he is trying) that it may become more than just painful to watch.

[HughGJohnson]

Originally Posted by TheMong

i got to admit it is painful to watch

I feel sorry for him. It's so bad it even offsets the pleasure I derive from seeing a red car struggle so much. I know driving for Ferrari is his dream, but you would think his performance would be embarassing for a professional driver. But, if he's having fun more power to him... as long as he stays out of everyones way. He certainly has done that so far. I couldn't help wondering, though, he slow a driver would have to be to lose his super license though.

[JackN]

Originally Posted by HughGJohnson

I couldn't help wondering, though, he slow a driver would have to be to lose his super license though.

It's because its Ferrari I'd imagine

If you remember, Yuji Ide (i think) lost his SuperLicense after a bit of a crash with a Midland F1. Any other team and i think the SuperLicenese would have been revoked.

[Dead-Eye]

Nonsense. When he starts taking out other cars on the track (as Ide was prone to) we can talk about his licence being revoked, just being a bit slower (and keep in mind it's just a second at Spa) doesn't warrant that.