Luca Badoer

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Luca Badoer racing for Ferrari
Luca Badoer
Nationality 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Italian
Years 1993, 1995 - 1996, 1999
Team(s) Scuderia Italia, Minardi, Forti
Races 56 (48 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Points 0
Poles 0
Fastest laps 0
First race 1993 South African Grand Prix
First win
Last win
Last race 1999 Japanese Grand Prix


Luca Badoer (born January 25 1971) is an Italian Formula One driver who has raced for the Scuderia Italia, Minardi and Forti Corse teams, and is presently a test driver for the Ferrari F1 team. Of the drivers currently active in F1 in 2007, only Badoer and Honda driver Rubens Barrichello have competed against Ayrton Senna.

Career

Badoer was born in Montebelluna, Veneto.

Prior to Formula One he was regarded as an upcoming driver from Italy. He graduated through the time-honoured route of karting, in which he was Italian champion. He beat Alex Zanardi in the final round of the 1990 Italian Formula 3 Championship. In 1991 he won four races in a row, but was disqualified after a technicality concerning his tyres. For 1992 he was offered a ride in Team Crypton for the F3000 Championship, in which he emerged as champion.

His début Formula One season in 1993 was mired by Scuderia Italia's uncompetitive Lola chassis, which, despite Ferrari engines, was the slowest car in the championship in terms of qualifying pace. He regularly beat his experienced team-mate Michele Alboreto, but lost out to him for the second drive when Scuderia Italia merged with Minardi for the 1994 season. He was retained as test driver however, and took over the drive in 1995 when Alboreto retired. In the underfunded team his best results were eighth places in Canada and Hungary and ninth in Japan. In 1996 he switched to Forti Corse, where he was only able to qualify for six of the ten races the team entered, which folded after that year's British Grand Prix.

In 1997 Badoer began his long spell as Ferrari's test driver, a role he continues to perform. He returned to racing for one season in 1999, with the Minardi team. In the July of that season, Ferrari's number one driver Michael Schumacher broke his leg in an accident at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. As Ferrari's test driver, Badoer expected to be promoted to the race seat in Schumacher's absence, but the team opted for Mika Salo instead, prompting criticism from former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi.

Badoer holds the dubious distinction of being the driver who has competed in the most Grands Prix (48) without scoring a single point. He nearly achieved his first points finish in the 1999 European Grand Prix when a strong drive saw Badoer lying in 4th place with only 13 laps remaining. Unfortunately the gearbox on his Minardi subsequently failed and television cameras showed Badoer weeping by his stricken car.

Badoer was unable to find a race seat in Formula One after 1999, and he became a permanent test driver for Ferrari. He covers thousands of kilometres at the Mugello and Fiorano test circuits each year and it is likely that Badoer has driven more kilometres in a Ferrari F1 car than any other Italian in history.

At the Opening Ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, Badoer was chosen to demonstrate the power and beauty of Ferrari F1 by driving the team's 2005 car to the centre of the stadium, revving the engine, and performing several doughnuts, creating a large cloud of tire smoke, and leaving circular black marks on the white platform. The event was witnessed by millions of television viewers worldwide, further giving stock to Badoer as a Ferrari stalwart.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Points
1993 Lola BMS Scuderia Italia Lola T93/30 Ferrari V12 RSA
Ret
BRA
12
EUR
DNQ
SMR
7
ESP
Ret
MON
DNQ
CAN
15
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
HUN
Ret
BEL
13
ITA
10
POR
14
JPN
AUS
- 0
1995 Minardi Scuderia Italia Minardi M195 Ford V8 BRA
Ret
ARG
DNS
SMR
14
ESP
Ret
MON
Ret
CAN
8
FRA
13
GBR
10
GER
Ret
HUN
8
BEL
Ret
ITA
Ret
POR
14
EUR
11
PAC
15
JPN
9
AUS
DNS
- 0
1996 Forti Grand Prix Forti FG01B Ford V8 AUS
DNQ
BRA
11
ARG
Ret
EUR
DNQ
- 0
Forti FG03 SMR
10
MON
Ret
ESP
DNQ
CAN
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
DNQ
GER
HUN
BEL
ITA
POR
JPN
1999 Fondmetal Minardi Ford Minardi M01 Ford V10 AUS
Ret
BRA
Inj
SMR
8
MON
Ret
ESP
Ret
CAN
10
FRA
10
GBR
Ret
AUT
13
GER
10
HUN
14
BEL
Ret
ITA
Ret
EUR
Ret
MAL
Ret
JPN
Ret
- 0


External links


3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Scuderia Ferrari
Personnel:
22px-Flag of France.png Jean Todt | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Mario Almondo | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Stefano Domenicali | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Luca Baldisseri
Current drivers:
22px-Flag of Finland.png Kimi Räikkönen | 22px-Flag of Brazil.png Felipe Massa | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Luca Badoer | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Giancarlo Fisichella (Test Driver) 22px-Flag of Spain.png Marc Gené (Test Driver)
Notable Former drivers:
22px-Flag of Germany.png Michael Schumacher | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Alberto Ascari | 22px-Flag of Argentina.png Juan Manuel Fangio | 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png Mike Hawthorn | 22px-Flag of Austria.png Niki Lauda | 22px-Flag of South Africa.png Jody Scheckter | 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png John Surtees | 22px-Flag of the United States.png Phil Hill | 22px-Flag of Brazil.png Rubens Barrichello | 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png Eddie Irvine | 22px-Flag of France.png Jean Alesi | 22px-Flag of France.png Alain Prost | 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png Nigel Mansell | 22px-Flag of Austria.png Gerhard Berger | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Michele Alboreto | 22px-Flag of France.png René Arnoux | 22px-Flag of France.png Patrick Tambay | 22px-Flag of the Canada.png Gilles Villeneuve | 22px-Flag of Argentina.png Carlos Reutemann | 20px-Flag of Switzerland.png Clay Regazzoni | 22px-Flag of the United States.png Mario Andretti | 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png Jacky Ickx | 22px-Flag of Germany.png Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Lorenzo Bandini
Formula One cars:
125 | 275 | 340 | 375 | 500 | 553 | 625 | 555 | D50 | 801 | 412 | 246 | 256 | 156 | 158 | 1512 | 312 | 312B | 312T | 126C | 156/85 | F1/86 | F1/87 | 640 | 641 | 642 | 643 | F92A | F93A | 412T | F310 | F310B | F300 | F399 | F1-2000 | F2001 | F2002 | F2002B | F2003-GA | F2004 | F2004M | F2005 | 248 | F2007 | F2008 | F60 | F10 | 150° Italia | F2012