Luca Badoer

Luca Badoer (born 25 January 1971 in Montebelluna, Italy) is an Italian former racing driver best known for his appearances in Formula One.

Formula One

1999: Sauber

After a year as test driver for Ferrari, Badoer was loaned to Red Bull Sauber Petronas by virtue of the Swiss team's engine deal with Maranello. Teaming with young Australian Rhys Davies, Badoer and Sauber were occasional points scorers in 1999 - with Badoer finishing in sixth position on two occasions.

Badoer returned to Ferrari at the end of the season.

2001-2002: Minardi

Badoer made an unexpected return to active competition in 2001, making the jump to struggling Italian outfit Minardi. He'd fail to score any points in two years with the team, his best result being an eighth place at the 2001 German Grand Prix.

Badoer left Minardi at the end of 2002 due to the team's newfound relationship with Mercedes.

2003: Ferrari

Badoer was unexpectedly called on for the final two races of 2003 by Ferrari after the team's usual driver Giancarlo Fisichella was sacked for making contact with team leader Michael Schumacher. Badoer scored points in both races - his best being a fourth place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix.

2004: Minardi return

Badoer re-signed for Minardi in 2004, racing alongside Zsolt Baumgartner. Neither driver scored any points in 2004 and Badoer returned to Ferrari as a reserve at the end of the year.

2005-2008: Ferrari

Ferrari called on Badoer to act as a reliable second driver to the volatile James James Davies in 2006 and he repaid the team by being a consistent podium finisher on several occasions - helping Ferrari secure the Manufacturers' championship and finishing in fourth place in the Drivers' standings.

Badoer was promoted to team leader in 2007 when Davies returned to McLaren and Ferrari opted to blood in young Polish racer Robert Kubica in the second seat. Badoer would go on to have the best season in his career, being a consistent points and podium finisher, before taking his first career win on the streets of Monte Carlo He followed this up with three more victories, in France, Belgium, and Brazil, finishing 2nd in the championship to Daniel Melrose with the same number of points, only losing the title on countback, Melrose taking seven wins to Badoer's four.

2007 was seen as his potential breakthrough season at the front of the field, with Ferrari resigning him in 2008, again being partnered with Kubica. However, Ferrari were relegated to a clear third best that year, with the F2008 not being on the same pace as the McLaren MP4-23 and the BMW Sauber F1.08. Badoer would however be clearly bested by Kubica, only finishing on the podium 3 times by the Italian Grand Prix, when his teammate had double that, including a win at Australia, although before the Singapore Grand Prix, Ferrari brought an update which made the car quicker, and Badoer would win on the streets of Punta del Este, as well as taking his first career fastest lap at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Despite this late-season improvement of form, Badoer would not be retained by Ferrari going into 2009.

2009: Williams

After losing his place at Ferrari, Badoer joined former World Champion Rhys Davies at Williams.

2010: USF1

Badoer's vast experience combined with the mass exodus of talent in the wake of the Formula One/F1RWRS split saw the Italian be a highly sought-after driver for the influx of new teams. North Carolina-based squad USF1 were the team to secure Badoer's skills for their maiden season - despite having gone back on a previous promise of only running American drivers in 2010. Both Badoer and teammate T. Hemo Goblin were only able to score a single point each as USF1 remained rooted to the bottom of the standings.

Badoer opted to retire from the sport at the end of 2010, citing that he had "achieved all he could have wanted" in Formula One.

Formula One Results

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	WDC	Pts
1999	Red Bull Sauber Petronas	Sauber C18	Petronas SPE-03A 3.0 V10	AUS 11	BRA 7	SMR 11	ESP 10	MON 11	CAN 6	FRA 13	GBR 11	AUT 6	GER 11	HUN 12	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	JPN 10	MAL Ret	POR 11					14th	2
2001	European Minardi F1	Minardi PS01	European 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	MAL 9	BRA Ret	SMR 11	ESP 14	AUT 10	MON Ret	CAN Ret	EUR Ret	FRA 11	GBR Ret	GER 8	HUN 13	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	USA 13	JPN Ret				20th	0
2002	European Minardi Asiatech	Minardi PS02	Asiatech AT02 3.0 V10	AUS 16	MAL 11	SMR 9	ESP 11	AUT Ret	MON 17	CAN 19	EUR Ret	FRA 9	GBR 16	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 12	BRA 14	USA 12	JPN 15				20th	0
2003	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari F2003-GA	Ferrari 052 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	GBR	EUR	GER	HUN	ITA	BEL	BRA	USA 5	JPN 4					14th	9
2004	Minardi F1 Team	Minardi PS04B	Cosworth CR-6 3.0 V10	AUS 15	MAL Ret	BHR 13	MON 16	CAN 11	USA 16	CHN 14	BRA Ret	ARG 12	KOR C	JPN 11										20th	0
2006	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari 248 F1	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8	BHR 9	MAL 8	AUS 3	BEL 7	EUR 7	SMR 4	MON 5	ESP Ret	GBR 13	CAN 4	USA 3	FRA 3	GER Ret	HUN Ret	TUR 2	ITA 3	BRA 4	URU 6	JPN 2	CHN 5	4th	71
2007	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari F2007	Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8	BHR 5	MAL 5	AUS 4	JPN 10	SMR 5	GER 3	ESP 2	MON 1	CAN 2	USA 5	GBR 3	EUR 10	FRA 1	HUN 2	TUR 5	ITA 4	BEL 1	CHN 3	URU 11	BRA 1	2nd	112
2008	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari F2008	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8	BHR 8	MAL 7	AUS 2	JPN 5	TUR Ret	EUR 14	MON 8	CAN Ret	USA 12	FRA 3	GBR 8	GER 8	HUN 5	ESP 8	BEL 2	ITA 4	SIN 9	CHN 7	URU 1	BRA Ret	6th	54