Luca Badoer
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| Luca Badoer | |
 |
|
| Nationality |  Italian |
|---|---|
| World Championship Career | |
| Active years | 1993, 1995 - 1996, 1999 |
| Team(s) | Scuderia Italia, Minardi, Forti |
| Races | 56 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 1993 South African Grand Prix |
| Last race | 1999 Japanese Grand Prix |
Luca Badoer (born January 25, 1971 in Montebelluna, Veneto) is an Italian Formula One driver who has raced for the Scuderia Italia, Minardi and Forti Corse teams.
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[edit] Career
Prior to Formula One he was regarded as an upcoming driver from Italy. He graduated through the honored 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 start in Formula One was mired by Scuderia Italia's Lola-Ferraris in 1993, which probably was the slowest car in the championship. He regularly beat experienced team-mate Michele Alboreto, but lost out to him for the second drive when Minardi bought the team. 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 achieved even less, returning to Minardi in 1999 after a two year spell away from Formula One, during which he had been official test driver for Ferrari.
When Michael Schumacher broke his leg in an accident in Silverstone in July 1999, he thought it would be his great chance to demonstrate his excellence, but the team chose to run Mika Salo instead, a decision which former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi publicly criticised.
By 2000 he had achieved the dubious recognition of being the driver who had competed in the most Grands Prix (48) without achieving a single point; making it even harder on him when his car suffered a gearbox failure when he was in fourth place towards the end of the European GP at the Nürburgring in 1999.
In 2000, unable to find a full time Formula One drive, he made the decision to become Ferrari test driver for the rest of his career. He remains the number one test driver at Ferrari, annually completing thousands of kilometres at the Mugello Circuit and Fiorano test circuits. Badoer has likely driven more kilometres in a Ferrari F1 car than any other Italian in history, and has avoided the stigma Ferrari attaches to Italian drivers, who have rarely gained the opportunity to test or race for the team.
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 billions of television viewers worldwide, further giving stock to Badoer as a Ferrari stalwart.
[edit] Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Team | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Scuderia Italia | 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 |
Scuderia Italia | - | 0 | |
| 1995 | Minardi | BRA Ret |
ARG Ret |
SMR 14 |
ESP Ret |
MON Ret |
CAN 8 |
FRA 13 |
GBR 10 |
GER Ret |
HUN 8 |
BEL Ret |
ITA Ret |
POR 14 |
EUR 11 |
PFC 15 |
JPN 9 |
AUS DNS |
Minardi | - | 0 |
| 1996 | Forti | AUS DNQ |
BRA 11 |
ARG Ret |
EUR DNQ |
SMR 10 |
MON Ret |
ESP DNQ |
CAN Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR DNQ |
GER DNP |
HUN |
BEL |
ITA |
POR |
JPN |
Forti | - | 0 | |
| 1999 | Minardi | 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 |
MYS Ret |
JPN Ret |
Minardi | - | 0 |
| Preceded by Christian Fittipaldi |
International Formula 3000 Champion 1992 |
Succeeded by Olivier Panis |
[edit] Trivia
On the BBC2 TV Program, Top Gear, one of the programs presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, was testing the Porsche 911 GT3RS against a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale on the Test Track with Badoer at the wheel of the Ferrari. Clarkson later concluded that the performance of these two cars were identical (as proven on the Power Laps board, both cars achieving a 1:22:30 time) and was able to overtake Badoer on the track, and after this, Badoer was unable to keep up with Clarkson.
