19 replies to this topic

[Ivan]

We rarely hear anything about him other than his testing. Does Ferrari allow him to drive in another series? And have you noticed that no one, NO ONE goes affter him to drive their car in F1. Hell Ferrari didn't even use him when Michael got hurt last year. If he sucks that much why does Ferrari keep him? I remember when he was at Minardi, he didn't set the world on fire!

[Dudley]

He was running 4th in Euro GP before the engine failed late on. If he'd got the points finishing glory that went to Gene you might have thought differently.

[Ivan]

Dudley,
I remember that and was pulling for him as well. But still how good is he?!

[Indian Chief]

He was running ahead of the Ferraris and McLaren when the car failed on him......definitely the worst moment of the 1999 season for me - far worse than Schumi's Silverstone shunt. I was incredibly disappointed.:(

LB never really got a chance in f1. the 1993 Lola and '95 Minardis were crap. The Forti was awful and the 1999 Minardi was extremely unreliable.

[Rainstorm]

Hi Ivan,

I actually met Luca Badoer several times, and I happen to know him and his background quite well.

Luca has great speed and contrary to common belief, he's a very good test driver. He holds the Fiorano track record, by the way. Not Schumacher, not Irvine, not Barricello. He does.

What he lacks, however, and fundementally, is physical strength (his physique is too fragile) and mental strength. And he knows it.

He simply isn't built to compete at top level, and under stress. When Ferrari did not take him in 1999 to replace Schumacher, he was deeply hurt, but many months later admitted that it was probably the right thing to do for the team.

He is very commited to Ferrari and he's very much liked there. Last year, after 3 years of using it exclusively, Michael Schumacher cleared the renovated bedroom in Enzo's house, at the Fiorano track, for Luca. Luca sleeps there probably half the year accumulated. Montezemolo also gave him a road car Ferrari as a present (beats me which model. But it's dark blue if it helps )

And, on top of it, Jean Todt was always making a point, whenever he was talking about "the team" to make sure Luca is mentioned too, and was very generous in giving him credit too, over and again, for the success of the F1-2000.

But all that doesn't mean he's suitable to be an active race driver in a team that aspires to achieve results at the front end of the grid.

Not all people are built for that - putting up a fight day in, day out. The level of game is just so hard today. well, yes, it always was, but the corporate game is more ruthless. Talent and speed are most certainly not enough.

Some people have a great voice. You hear them sing and think, wow, that guy could have been a famous singer. But all they would ever do, at best, is record radio gingles and children's audio books while dreaming about becoming the next Pavaroti.

That's life. We're not all cut out for the limelight, and not all of us get that break.

Regards,

Rainstorm

[Nikolas Garth]

Rainstorm,
Is it not possible for Badoer to strengthen himself up with weights????

And if this is his problem, what chance of there ever being a competitive female F1 driver???

[Rainstorm]

Nikolas,

I would tend to agree with you that any driver with a flawed physique - and perhaps women are by default physically flawed, I don't know - would have to put in extra efforts and extra commitment to reach a reasonable level, not to mention the higher levels set by the likes of Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve.

But for every hour that Schumacher needs to work out, I suspect Badoer would need to work out two. And maybe a woman would need to work out three. I have no idea, I am not much of an expert on physical training. In any case, it's obvious that to achieve this level, Badoer for one would need such rare commitment, not even seen in most successful F1 drivers (putting the mega-stars like Schumacher, Hakkinen, Villeneuve and even Coulthard aside).

It was said about Senna that when he entered F1, he was totally lacking physical strength. He finished races exhausted, and I vaguely remember reading that he collapsed after his first race - or one of his first races. Thereafter, he made a commitment to work on his fitness, and like everything else he did, he worked on that with near obsession until he reached the level needed. How many drivers or human beings in the world have what it take to make such a commitment, and not just in F1?

As for your question about women - I think the first woman to succeed in F1 would have to be a Senna like woman (as far as commitment and obsession goes). And not just because of the level of fitness she would require to meet and the bigger training curve it would require of her, but because of the mental strenght and self-belief she would have to have to do it, almost against the odds.

Reg,

Rain

[hannu]

Who cares?

[Sudsbouy]

Rainstorm...

Thanks for the information on LB. It's good to hear how much the Ferrari team has acted on their appreciation of his contributions.

And, I agree with the assessment that the qualities of a good test driver do not necessarily translate into being a good F1 driver. All the pressure and demands for your time outside the car dramatically change the job description.

Thank you.

[Jhope]

Originally posted by hannu
Who cares?

About what? Badoer? I love'em man. He's a great driver, just never given the opportunity. Last year's decision to have Salo in the car instead of him was wrong in my opinion. I just think that Ferrari were afraid that he's blow Irvine out of the water. Well, Mika did just that at Hockenheim, so if that was the case, it backfired.

I also read somewhere that Ferrari didn't want an Italian driver on their RACE team. Can someone clarify this please?

[FlatFoot]

Having not seen Badoer in person I hesitate to say...but I've heard that he is a very small man. In fact I saw a comparison of f1 driver weights a while back and he was the smallest on there at 56kg...or somewhere close.

I've also read the the reason he's never fully reached his potential is because he's quite the club/ladies man.

Ah the life of a Ferrari test pilot...rough stuff indeedy.

[Jhope]

There are a few stories about Luca and Eddie hitting the town on a few occassions. Can you imagine the damage tose two caused?

[Ivan]

Jhope,
Enzo himself said that after the death of the last Italian driver in his car that HE would never let another drive his cars. If Montezemolo still holds Enzo's words to heart, that would be interesting.

Rainstorm,
Thanks for the info.

[Jhope]

Alesi is French Sicilian. Badoer is DRIVING the car. Ivan Capelli drove for the team, in 1992 and Micheali Alboreto from 1984 to 1988.

[Richard Jenkins]

and Nicola Larini in 1994...

[Billy]

Larini also got to drive the Japanese and Australian GP in 1992 after Capelli was sacked, but he drove an overweight prototype car with active suspension designed for 1993.

After the 1991 Japanese GP, Prost told the press that the 1991 Ferrari "drove like a truck". Ferrari sacked him and Gianni Morbidelli got to drive in Australia, and finished 6th.

Many drivers were killed in Ferraris in the 1950s. Enzo Ferrari said "the reason why I don't have any Italian drivers in the team goes back to 1958 when the Italian newspapers said I was the devil eating my own sons."

[mhferrari]

Good enough to have a seat at Prost.

[Ivan]

Hey Billy and Jhope,
I got the Enzo quote from a video that I watched about a week ago. Enzo said it himself.

[Jhope]

Ivan, I believe you. I've heared the quote myself. It's just that Luca hasn't really lived up to Enzo's promise. But Enzo said this a long time ago. Even so, when he was alive in 1988, he still had an Italian racing for him in Alboreto.

Just last year, when asked why Badoer was not racing for Ferrari, Todt and Luca said they would not have an Italian drive the car, as it would bring enormous pressure on the driver. The state Ferrari is in now, the pressure would be greater than it was when Alesi, Capelli and Larini drove for the team earlier in the decade.

[mono-posto]

Originally posted by Billy
"the reason why I don't have any Italian drivers in the team goes back to 1958 when the Italian newspapers said I was the devil eating my own sons."

The Italians are just so poetic in thier wording.
I love it.
I really do.