Italian Luca Badoer is up to the challenge after being handed a race drive by Ferrari when Michael Schumacher canceled plans for a temporary return to Formula One, Badoer said on Tuesday.
Seven-time world champion Schumacher was due to replace the injured Felipe Massa, but canceled his return to F1 as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycling accident earlier this year, handing a golden opportunity to the team’s experienced test driver.
“I have prepared myself to be ready under any circumstances just as I’ve been doing in previous years,” Badoer told the team’s Web site, www.ferrari.com. “I’ve been in this business for quite a while. After Felipe’s accident [in Hungary last month] I intensified my program and I’m sure I won’t have any problems.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Badoer started 49 races for Scuderia Italia, Minardi and Forti without scoring a point between 1993 and 1999, his last competitive drive coming at the Japanese Grand Prix almost a decade ago.
However, the 38-year-old has been behind the wheel of Ferrari’s existing F60 race car, something Schumacher could not do before he aborted his preparations for the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Aug. 23 because of a ban on track testing during the season.
The Italian said he had mixed emotions.
“Since I was a child I’ve always wanted to race for Ferrari and now I’ve got the possibility to make this desire come true,” Badoer said. “I’m really sorry for Michael because I know how much he wanted to return. I’m saying that as his friend and his fan. I know he’ll always be ready to give me advice.”
“I am very unhappy that a problem means that Michael cannot return to racing,” Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said.
“In the past few days, I could appreciate his great efforts and extraordinary motivation which had spread through the team and fans around the world,” he said. “No doubt his return would have been good for Formula One and I am sure it would have seen him fighting for wins again. In the name of Ferrari and all the fans, I wish to thank him for the strong attachment he displayed for the team in these circumstances.”
Montezemolo said the team gave Badoer “the chance to race for the Scuderia after he has put in so many years of hard work as a test driver.”
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