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.”
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS