F1 links: Badoer gets one more chance

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Ferrari may replace Badoer after Spa

Stefano Domenicali: "What I said exactly, to be precise, is that for us the first priority is to understand when Felipe Massa will come back. For sure it is an important race for Luca Badoer next weekend. We are expecting a big jump from him and then we will see."

Renault apologises to RBR for failures

Fabrice Lom of Renault: “I can only apologise to Red Bull Racing and Sebastian in particular for this reliability issue and assure them that we will work as hard as possible to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

Brawn GP add sidepod panel to BGP001

"It has taken them a while, but Brawn GP have developed their own version of a sidepod panel to smoothen airflow around the sidepod."

Horner rules out using KERS

"A somewhat cagey Horner also confirmed to the BBC in their post-race F1 programme that they would not be experimenting with using the technology at Spa next weekend."

Suzuka to host next three Japanese GPs

"Suzuka will host the next three Japanese events – in 2009, 2010 and 2011 – after Fuji International Speedway announced last month it will no longer hold the event due to the economic downturn."

Toyota’s F1 future not guaranteed

John Howett "We have submitted the budget and because of the economic situation, the Toyota group wants to wait for the full half year of the current financial year [before signing it off]," he said. "I am honestly expecting severe pressure on budget."

Schumacher rules out race return

Michael Schumacher gives his firmest indication yet he will never return to F1: "No. I'm not thinking about doing any races. My life is OK."

Donington at end of road?

Bernie Ecclestone on Donington Park: “They have got until the end of September to produce a bank guarantee and their contract depends on that. If they don’t it’s adios amigos.”

Valencia, Sunday morning

"My Spanish colleagues tell me that the organisers have requested a move to October. There has been a rumour all weekend that this is the last race here, but I’m told this isn’t the case, the city has invested a lot to get this race and hasn’t come close to getting its money back. But they do want a date switch."

Lewis Hamilton talks to Tim Lewis about the worst year of his life

"You have some people who are happy being told what to do and some people who like to find out for themselves. I'm one of those spirits where if it's a mistake, I want to feel it myself, I want to find my own way."

These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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24 comments on “F1 links: Badoer gets one more chance”

  1. One more chance? He should have been sacked after the first 5 laps of the race. The worst performance by any driver I have ever seen. The weekend couldn’t have gone any worse

    1. Terry Fabulous
      24th August 2009, 6:27

      I don’t know Tommy, he could have stepped in doggy doo on the way through the paddock… that could have made it worse!

      1. According to Autosport’s Jon Noble, Badoer rounded off his performance this weekend by driving into the back of Adrian Sutil’s car in parc ferme. “Luca bambino, stay cool…”

  2. Terry Fabulous
    24th August 2009, 6:26

    I look forward to cheering Luca home to his first F1 points at Spa!

    I am basing this on no basis other then my firm belief in Karma after the European Grand Prix of 1999.

  3. If there was a race at Mugello though, Badoer would have a good chance!

  4. Hands up all those who can get into an F1 car with no testing and expect to get a decent race finish first time out? Nobody? I thought so – Old Schuey may have done it, but he has ruled himself out with the neck injury, and even he wanted extra track time.
    Under the current rules, I don’t see how any driver could suddenly give the same performance as Massa just like that. Lets not have our expectations cloud the reality of what the teams actually have to live with this year.
    Any driver who can get into an F1 car under such conditions and actually complete a race deserves congratulations and encouragement. We keep telling ourselves how brave and fearless these guys are – and that must extend to the rookies and returning drivers too, in fact even more so.
    Badoer must have had a huge weight of responsibility on his shoulders during the race, having to fill Massa’s boots and know he will be unfavourably compared no matter how well he perfoms.
    I still think there is something odd about Ferrari’s choices of driver, but no doubt they have their reasons for it…..

    1. Hands up all those who get paid an F1 race or test drivers salary? Nobody? OK lame argument then.

      No one expects someone to equal Massa’s performance right away (although people would have expected Schu to do so), but a top 10 should be possible. Even Piquet or Bourdais would do better than Badoer.

      Rumours are that Fisichella might step in. Apparently there are talks with Force India going. They want money to release Fisi.

      1. But would the likes of Piquet or Bourdais, who have been dropped from other teams for underperforming don’t forget, be as good in a different car without any pre-testing?
        Doesn’t any driver, no matter how good, need a certain amount of time to get to know any new car?
        If Ferrari are now going to drop Badoer on the results of one race, or maybe two, it makes you wonder why they asked him to do it all….

        1. Dropping Piquet for Grosjean could be wise. Dropping Bourdais for Alguersuari in my opinion is a decision STR would regret. Right now the rookies are lost. I think he maybe .5 seconds behind Kimi, but he knows the push to pass, is consistent, has recent f1 racing experience, has Massa’s manager and can manage points.
          Important for Ferrari if his target is to finish third.
          Badoer how much can improve? 1 second behind Kimi. He is not a rookie he is an experienced driver in the fridge. I remember 2 times world champion Mika driving Mclaren an was like 2 deconds behind and he said enough. Badoer should right now quit by his own decision.

          1. I agree Patrickl. He did EVERYTHING wrong. You can’t take a single positive from the race. Alguersuari managed to finish in his first race without spinning off, getting penalties or crashing in parc ferme.

            I was very embarrassed for Badoer

  5. It seems that Ferrari is just giving up on their season. I am by no means a Ferrari fan but i think it is a kick in the teeth from Ferrari to their fans to have Badoer use an F1 race as a test session. That was one of the worse performances I have ever watched in an F1 race, Ferrari should be ashamed and replace Badoer in Spa.

    1. I am a Ferrari fan and I was happy to see them give Badoer a couple of races. He has served the team for over a decade, he is also a life-long fan of Ferrari who always shows his love & respect for the team and I think this is an appropriate “thank-you” from Ferrari after all he has done for them.

      This season is now a write-off in Championship terms so it wouldn’t matter who took Felipe’s seat, we’re not going to win anything no matter who they put in there so it’s not like he’s costing us anything either.

      Judging him on the last race weekend is a bit harsh, in my opinion. He’s driving a car he’s never driven with tyres he’s never used at a track he’s never been to before after about ten years away from top-level racing. As he and the team said before the race, this weekend was an extended test for him to get used to everything and all they were expecting was a finish.

      The time to start making a judgement will be at Spa where he should be far more competitive.

      If he’s still so far behind Kimi at Spa then it’ll be time to get someone else in but even then I’d never consider this a kick in the teeth, if he hadn’t worked so hard testing previous cars then Ferrari may not have won their recent championships so giving him two races in a season we’re never going to win is no big deal for me.

      1. I agree that Ferrari have probably written this season off and so they don’t really need a consistent point scorer to replace Massa

        In the Constructors Championship unless there are some freak results they should finish fourth even with just Raikkonen scoring points as McLaren will probably overtake them for third, Toyota’s slump in form mean they shouldn’t be worry and Williams are in a similar position to Ferrari in that they currently only have one driver scoring points so they shouldn’t overtake them in the Constructors table either.

        As Ferrari have stopped developing this years car they probably won’t win a race this year, unless there are special circumstances.

  6. To me it doesn’t make sense to waste money and efforts for another “active” driver, this year. Every driver they had choosen he would have been in serious difficulties, for testing ban. So they chose to award one of the drivers they already have in the team, and the chosen one was Badoer, who is the oldest.
    After that I think that everybody in Ferrari was expecting a better performance, because no doubts that Valencia has been nearly a disaster.
    What encourages is the lap times of the last stint, when Luca was able to run apparently a good 1′ 40″ sequence…but don’t forget that Spa is a difficult track again, and Badoer might have a slow pace in Belgium also. In the case I would not be surprised if the tried Gene or Schumi from Monza on…

  7. There are also two other new drivers out there in Alguersuari and Grosjean who have no F1 experience but have recent racing experience, whereas although Badoer has not driven a 2009 F1 he does have ten years of testing experience but no racing experience in that time.

    Nobody expects Badoer to be on Raikkonen’s pace from the first race, but Ferrari will probably be comparing his performance at Spa to the other new drivers performance relative to their teammates, and if he is not closer to Raikkonen I would be surprised if he lasted till Monza.

  8. So Renault apologizes to Vettel for his engine blow ups.

    How come these only hit Vettel though? Is that pure bad luck? I mean he’s had 4 engines break, but Alonso, Webber and Piquet/Grosjean haven’t had a single engine break down.

    Could it be something in Vettel’s driving or something wrong with the car (faulty ECU, exhaust, bad vibration …)?

    1. Thats interesting. There are some drivers in the past that have been notoriously hard on cars – the most famous case being Stirling Moss.
      He would just race them as hard as he could until they blew up.

      1. It is difficult to understand, as for him pushing too hard the engine is protected electronically so in theory unlikely, but is he physically harder on the car, and if so is the engine the most likely component to suffer? Maybe just unlucky but there is probably more to it. Perhaps Keith has a theory?

        1. as for him pushing too hard the engine is protected electronically

          Well, yes, but if a driver has a lead foot and is constantly banging on the rev limiter, that is unbelievably hard on an engine.

          Methinks that an examination of young Vettel’s throttle foot would show an abnormally high concentration of lead. :)

          1. Everybody is talking about 1 grid place drop but it maybe more if he continues in the same vein. You may be right in so much as he is being over aggresive with gear changes, but you would expect other drivers to experience at least some sort of problem, but if my memory is right piquet jnr, alonso and webber have all run pretty much reliably.

  9. HounslowBusGarage
    25th August 2009, 8:19

    Move Valencia to October?
    Makes a lot of sense to me. Sitting in the uncovered stands in Spanish August sunshine for three or four hours is not an experience I would pay a lot of money for. It’s just too damned hot.
    There were lots of empty seats visible (briefly) on Sunday, and clearly Valencia had not attracted the bums onto seats in sufficient quantites. Why not?
    Too expensive?
    Too expensive to stay in local hotels?
    Too difficult to get to/from the track?
    Boring track with poor visibility?
    Too hot?

    Probably all of the above.
    The track and the visibility are capable of improvement by re-planning this temporary track and moving the race earlier or later in the year will make it cooler. Costs and access are another matter completely.

  10. One more chance?? Oh no.. I don’t know how long Badoer can get at least one point to Ferrari..But maybe he improve this week.. Let’s we see what happen this weekand.. Anyway.. When Massa will back????

  11. When Massa will back????

    Speculation for Monza and Suzuka (though highly unlikely), hopefully back for Brazil if everything goes well. Really miss my fav driver and hope he makes full and speedy recovery. He’s at Miami on friday for some more tests so might find out more this week Massa Fan about returning and how he’s doing now.

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