Badoer, Luke

Career start

Luca Badoer was born in Montebellun , Venice , in a wealthy family, and like many of his peers, he began his racing career with karting , and very cheerfully. Already in the first year of participation, in 1985, he was able to win twice, the next year - he became the champion of Venice in the 100 cm ³ class, and a year later - the champion of all Italy in the same class. Moving to karting of a higher level in 1988, he once again won the title of champion of the country. It is time to move on to the next step.

The first, 1989 season in Italian Formula 3 went to training, and the very next year he surprised everyone by interfering in the last race of the season in Vallelunga in the fight between Alessandro Zanardi and Roberto Colchago . He overtook both and won for the first time, and according to the results of the season he was tenth with 13 points. This unexpected success attracted attention to him, and at the beginning of the next, 1991 season, he was considered one of the contenders for the title. Having started the season not very actively, by the middle of the year he suddenly won four races in a row, which caused justifiable suspicions of cheating. Moreover, checking the car after the fourth victory showed that abnormal tires were installed on his car - so he was disqualified, and later did not show high results - either because of the demoralized disqualification, or because of reinsurance of the team with the aim of not be disqualified again.

One way or another, Luca continued on his way to the racing peaks. Having received an offer to take a place in the Team Crypton team, speaking in the International Formula 3000 , he became a partner of Michael Bartels , a man who was a Formula 1 pilot last year. Among the rivals, they got a lot of future famous pilots - Coulthard , Barrichello , Panis and many others. In such an environment, Luka was not at a loss, and began the season with three finishes with glasses. It would seem that the start could have been better - but then two victories followed in Enna-Perguz and Hockenheim , won in the dominant style - pole , fast lap and victory. He also won the next race in Nurburg .

Such a rapid take-off was almost interrupted already at the next race - in the Spa he had a terrible accident in the “O Rouge” turn, his helmet was split, but luckily he managed to avoid injuries. This blow of fate, however, did not affect his speed in any way - he did not even miss a single stage. In Albacete, he finished second after Montermini , and in the penultimate race of the season he again won the pole, fast lap and victory. With such baggage, even the fact that the last race did not bring points did not stop him from earning the title - Montermini was 12 points behind, and Barrichello was 19. By the end of the year, both Badoera and Barrichello already had contracts with Formula 1 teams in their pockets. but from that moment their careers went in completely different directions.

BMS Scuderia Italia ( 1993 )

Initially, it seemed that Badoer made a better choice than Barrichello - if the Brazilian got into the relatively young team of Eddie Jordan , who finished the previous season with only one point, then Luke's BMS Scuderia Italia even had two podiums. In fact, everything turned out to be the opposite, and while Rubens was actively fighting on the track in the middle of the peloton, Badoer at each of the races was forced to compete only with his own teammate - which became an Alboreto veteran. The fact that the team that did not produce their own cars, just before this season changed the supplier from Dallara to Lola played a role here, while the company Laruss , which had previously used the services of this company, did not shine with the results, to put it mildly.

In the first race of the 1993 season in South Africa, Luka was the last at the start, nine seconds behind the pole, and left the race. At the next stage , against the background of the introduced starting field restriction of 26 cars, he qualified 21st, overtaking not only his partner, but also three rivals. In the race - he finished for the first time, though the last, 12th, and Alboreto was ahead. In Donington, he, on the contrary, was beyond qualifications, and in Imola, Alboreto turned out to be an outsider, and Badoer did not finish last - only nine cars remained in the race and Luke did not have quite a bit to the points. Subsequently, this finish in 7th place will be the best for Luke in his career.

In Spain, Luca again retrained three rivals, but again he retired. In Monaco, the situation was reversed, and in Canada , France and the UK, Badoer again came first - but out of three attempts, only in Canada did it finish in 15th place. The next five stages have already passed without restrictions on the number of starts, but all that was achieved was a few finishes in the second ten. After the Portuguese Grand Prix , the team management decided that further work was useless, and sold the team and all the property of Giancarlo Minardi .

Interestingly, after the collapse of the team, both of its riders were considered not by anyone, but by Benetton for the purpose of pairing with Michael Schumacher in 1994 . Both were invited to the tests, but could not show inspiring results, as a result of which JJ Lehto took the coveted place. Alboreto was able to seize a place in Minardi , and for Badoeer there was only a place for a tester in the same team - and as a result, his career almost ended, not really starting.

Minardi ( 1995 )

After the 1994 lost for Badoera, Alboreto decided to end his career, and a place was finally freed up in the team. Becoming a partner of Pierluigi Martini , Luca was in an unsuccessful team at a bad time. Before the season, the management tried to conclude a contract for the supply of engines with the Mugen Honda company, but at the last moment they lost it and the engines went to the Ligier . The chassis was not bad and with Japanese engines it would have been successful, but I had to be content with the weak eight-cylinder Ford EDs . Almost always managed to qualify in the top ten, while racing on the tracks is more winding, where the lack of power was not so obvious, Badoer was able to show his best side, so when in the middle of the season one of the racers had to be replaced by Pedro Lamy , the driver , lost had martini. Nevertheless, in general, the results were very average, despite the fact that they were better than that of a partner. In addition, by intransigence, when overtaking a circle, Luke earned himself many enemies.

The start of the season was far from the best. Starting in the first race from 18th place, Luka left due to a breakdown. At the second stage in Argentina, on a wet track, he was able to qualify for a wonderful 13th place - but at the start he hit the rubble and did not go out for a second start in the absence of a spare car. In Imola , forcing almost everyone to suffer on the track when overtaking himself in a circle, he finally finished - but only 14th, ahead of only a couple of “Fortes”. This was followed by two colorless gatherings in Spain and Monaco , but then a series of successful finishes happened immediately. At first he became the 8th in Canada , and then added to this 13th and 10th places in France and the UK, respectively. In Germany and Belgium, he came down again, but in Hungary, he first qualified for the best 12th place of the season, and then he finished quite well - in 8th place.

The next stage in Italy, Badoer began with the destruction of his car in an accident in training. At the start, however, he was able to dodge the massive blockage at the start - but in the race itself he still came down, having flown off the track. In Portugal , it was not possible to dodge the blockage, and after replacing the car, the slightly shell-shocked Luka finished 14th, except for Forti, leaving behind Taki Inue as well . Having finished in the second ten in the Grand Prix of Europe and the Pacific (11th and 15th places respectively), he was able to show at least some result only in Japan , becoming the ninth. In the last race , he did not start at all, failing to start the warm-up lap due to electrical problems. Coincidentally, in the same race, the nominal rental driver Pedro Lamy earned their only point for the team - so at the end of the season Luke announced the termination of contact in favor of another rental driver - the same Taki Inue. It is interesting that the Japanese did not get a place as a result - Fisichella and Lavaji acted instead.

Forti ( 1996 )

At the time of parting with Minardi, there were very few places in the teams, and the top pilots were not eager to take Badoera to their team - so I had to take what they gave. Luke took a place in one of Forti's cars - the ones he often overtook last season. His partner was Andrea Montermini , a friend of the Formula 3000 . I must say that Forti, already being one of the weakest teams, also experienced financial difficulties this season - Pedro Paolo Dinitz left them, taking sponsors. The team managed to get a successful Ford Zetec R engine, which recently brought Schumacher his first title, but they did not have time to prepare a new chassis by the beginning of the season, and they had to start by modifying the old one. Together with the new 107% rule, this left both Italians little chance of success.

In the first race of the season, however, Badoer easily outfitted his partner - but both of them lost to the rest three and six seconds, respectively, which is why they remained behind the race itself. In Brazil, he did not even start last, but only because Marquez and Dinitz lost their qualification results due to violations. In the race, he finished, but only 11th and last. In Argentina, at the start, he ran into the same Dinitz and was forced to get out independently from under an inverted car, since the marshals did not turn it over, fearing a fire. At the fourth stage in Europe, the team, in anticipation of a new car, did not try at all, so both pilots did not qualify again.

Badoer's stable qualifications in front of the partner did their job, and when a new chassis finally appeared in Imola, it was Luca who first appeared on it. As a result, he managed to get ahead of his partner by almost two seconds, leaving him overboard qualifications. In the race, Luke finished tenth - again the last and behind in several laps. In Monaco, in difficult conditions, he was able to hold out almost to the finish line, but in a turn Mirabeau took Villeneuve overtaking him to the circle, for which he was rewarded with a conditional fine in one race.

In Spain and the UK, Luka did not qualify, and in Canada and France he started on the 20th, but did not finish due to breakdowns. At this time, the team received a sponsorship offer from a mysterious organization, the Shannon Group, and the general opinion was that with proper funding, it would be possible to improve the car and the results. In reality, the team never saw the money, and therefore it was disbanded. Badoer again was left without a team, and unlike the previous year, the place of a combat pilot could not be found.

Ferrari Tester (1997—2010)

Thus, after three seasons in the weak teams, Luka was out of work. He returned to work as a tester in Minardi for a short time, but then quit. After some time, it was possible to agree on limited participation in the FIA ​​GT championship for the GBF Engineering team , where he composed Domenico Skiattarelle and Mauro Martini at the wheel of the Lotus Elise Turbo and Lotus Elise GT1, but all this only lasted six races. As a result, Badoer was able to record in his asset only 12th place at the stage in Donington.

The fate of the race made an unexpected turn the following year, in 1998. Ferrari staff tester Nicola Larini decided to end his career, and Jean Todt decided to invite him to replace Luke as the most skilled racer available both in terms of racing and in terms of refinement a car. The work was fruitful - it was largely thanks to her that Schumacher managed to fight for the champion title during the season, despite the fact that he spent only the third season in the Italian team - and before his arrival it was difficult to fight not only for the title, but even for victory. Such results, obviously, required an extremely tight involvement, and it seemed that Luke's racing career was over, but in 1999 the Ferrari leadership agreed to let him go in one season in Minardi - naturally, without interruption from his main job.

In tests at Ferrari, in total, he clocked up a huge distance from 15 to 20 thousand kilometers. It was his contribution that turned out to be the key in the construction of the Ferrari F1-2000 , which brought Schumacher the long-awaited title. Ironically, the second of those who took advantage of Badoeur’s work was Barrichello - the same Barrichello whom Luca beat with such ease in 1992 in Formula 3000. This contribution has remained largely unnoticed by the public.

At the end of the 2000 season, Luca stated that he had rejected several offers from the middle teams in exchange for a promise from Todt that he would become a valid Ferrari backup pilot, whose services would be required in case something happened to the main Ferrari pilots. It is believed that if Kimi Raikkonen did not receive superlicenses , his place in Sauber would have been taken by Badoer. This did not happen, as did the incident with Michael and Rubens, so the situation remained unchanged.

In January 2001, a serious accident happened during the next tests. Driving last year’s F1-2000, Luka punctured the wheel, causing the car to roll over and tumbling, flying through a gravel trap and flying over the fence. Surprisingly, Badoer escaped with minor injuries, however, was eliminated for two weeks. During the absence, he was replaced by the Italian pilot Fabrizio Giovanardi, but after the return of Luca was as good as before, again making a huge contribution to the development of the machine - this time to the development of the traction control system.

At the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Badoer made a demonstration race in a 2005 season car. At first, the mechanics of the team assembled the car, Badoer got into it, spun the engine and several times “scrolled donuts” on a special platform.

Return to Race ( 2009 )

In 2009, after many years of working as a tester, Luke finally got the opportunity to race in a Ferrari. The main pilot of the team, Felipe Massa , was injured at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2009 and was eliminated for a long time - a spring fell from Rubens Barrichello’s suspension in his head. Initially, it was assumed that Mass would be replaced by Michael Schumacher, who had completed his career three years earlier, but his neck injuries received in the Superbike race a few months earlier did not allow him to perform. Before the European Grand Prix in Valencia, the team officially announced that Badoer would be the replacement. In an official press release, it was said that this was done "in gratitude for loyalty to the team." Taking into account the fact that the last time Luka competed in the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix , the break was almost ten years, which nevertheless turned out to be slightly worse than the record break of 10 years and 3 months set by Jan Lammers , who participated in the Grand Prix Netherlands 1982 , and after that - only in the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix .

At the first training session on the city circuit in Valencia, he showed the last time, losing to the session leader for three seconds, and to his own partner Raikkonen - 2.5 seconds. I must say that on this track Badoer never spoke on any cars. By the second session, the backlog from Kimi was reduced to 1.3 seconds, and in the third was 1.9 seconds. He qualified as the 20th and the last, losing to the closest of his rivals - Alguersuari from Toro Rosso - for almost one and a half seconds.

In addition, during the weekend he was four times faster than the pit lane , for which he was fined a total of 5400 euros. He himself explained this by the fact that he was used to the limit of 100 km / h, adopted on the tests, and pressing the speed limiter button in the pit lane's usual place for him leads to the fact that the car simply does not have time to slow down to the control line.

At the start of the race, he won six places and walked 14th, after which Grosjean drove into him from behind, which caused a U-turn. He finished with the penultimate, 17th, ahead of both Toro Rosso in the best lap time. Due to this performance, he became the first Italian driving a Ferrari in the last 15 years. His speech criticized some experts. For example, Martin Brandl , a former BBC racer and commentator, expressed the opinion that participation in the race of inexperienced racers such as Badoeur and Grosjean is dangerous, because due to the ban on tests until January 1, 2010 they have no way to gain the necessary experience. In particular, Luke last time had the opportunity to drive a car already in December 2008 in Portimao. In addition, Brandl said: “It may seem strange to someone that Ferrari was not given a seat at the wheel of Marc Genet , who recently performed rather well as a substitute in Williams , but the fact is that in the conditions of the test ban, none of test pilots will not be able to be fast enough.Personally I would give a place to one of the young rising stars, future pilots.

On the other hand, the riders mainly defended Badoera. Lewis Hamilton , for example, said: “I think he did well. At least he didn’t crash anywhere. It’s basically difficult to try to repeat the results of Felipe Massa. In the end, for ten years he had not chased at all, and it would be difficult for any rider after such a break to recover. He started well, having conducted all the sessions without incident, and will gradually catch up. ” Heikki Kovalainen , for his part, remarked:“ I don’t know what else you expected from him. Modern tires sometimes warm up, sometimes not, sometimes even overheat, and working with them is now much more difficult than ten years ago when the tires worked the same under all conditions. I think that this can very confuse the rider - if the tires do not work 100%, you can not give all the best. "

One way or another, after the race, team leader Stefano Domenicali said that Badoer will perform at least one more stage - in the Belgian Grand Prix . Despite the fact that he performed more than once on the track in Spa Luca, the result in the qualification turned out to be the same - the last place. At the start, he successfully passed all the clashes and finished in 14th place, the last of those who finished in the winner's circle. Once in the race, he even set the best time on one of the sectors. After this Grand Prix, he was replaced by another Italian pilot - Giancarlo Fisichella, but for the remaining five races he also could not even get close to the spectacle zone, despite the fact that before the replacement he was a combat pilot of the Force of India , and in Belgium finished a step away from victory, in 2nd place. Badoer himself said that the reason for the decision to replace him was negative reviews in the press.

End of career

In late 2010, Badoer officially resigned as chief test pilot of Ferrari, transferring this post to Jules Bianchi . His last appearance as an official tester for him was his participation in Ferrari Day at the Bologna Motor Show on December 8, 2010. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, he said that the only thing he regrets is that he was able to take part in only two races for Ferrari. In January 2011, he last sat behind the wheel of a Ferrari F60 at an ice show in Madonna de Campiglio .

Personal life

Badoer is currently single. He is an architect by education, is fond of racing, airplanes, speed boats and helicopters. He also plays tennis, golf , and enjoys skiing and horse riding. He loves Italian pop music, especially Ramazotti , Battisti, Balloni and Carboni. Of the drinks, he prefers orange juice.

Steve Small. The Grand Prix Who's Who . - 2. - Guinness World Records Limited, 1996.- S. 43. - 464 p. - ISBN 0-85112-623-5 .

• Luca Badoer (Russian) on the site wildsoft.motorsport.com
• Badoer, Luke at historicracing.com
• Official site of Luca Badoera (ital.)
• Olympic donuts video
• Profile on F1 Rejects
• "Luca Badoer - unlucky racer": article on proformula.ua (inaccessible link)