It happened today – 25 January
On 25th January 1971, Luca Badoer was born in Montebelluna, Italy. Although he only raced a Prancing Horse twice out of 52 Formula 1 starts, Luca Badoer is part of Scuderia history, given that for over a decade, from 1998 to 2010, he was the main test driver for the Maranello team.
Luca completed tens of thousands of kilometres over long days of testing, which was vital to develop the car, which especially in the golden era from 1999 to 2008, took the Scuderia to six Drivers’ and eight Constructors’ titles. His work always took place out of the limelight, but one only has to look at one fact to see how important it was: there was one person whose judgment on a technical development Michael Schumacher would rely on without question and that was Luca! They enjoyed a very close relationship and became great friends, not the norm by any means in the world of Formula 1.
The biggest regret of his career was that he had not been able to show what he could do at the wheel of a Ferrari in a race. When that opportunity did present itself, in the summer of 2009, Luca was unlucky to be lumbered with the worst car to be built at Maranello over the last twenty years, the F60. Only the incredible talent of Kimi Raikkonen managed to take it to a win in Spa, on the very day Luca made his debut in red. Even the results of those who, after Monza, took over at the wheel replacing the man from Montebelluna, only served to show what a thankless task it was to make it competitive.
Today, Luca continues to collaborate with Ferrari on the development of the granturismo cars. All true Ferrari fans send him their best wishes, knowing how important a part he played in an extraordinary period of the most successful team in the world.
- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/it-happe....vwtQs8Og.dpuf
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