[Auto / Moto] Underestimated "useless" of F1 - # 5, Luca Badoer

[rlex]

 

Stigmatized for his two ridiculous races at Ferrari in 2009 and for the negative record of most appearances in F 1 without a single point (50), Luca Badoer is now recognized as a "second class driver". With this tribute we will argue the opposite.

Initially, by the end of 2020, this negative record seemed to be threatened by George Russell. The talented Briton was already established in the basement of the standings with the weak Williams team, but his extraordinary call from Mercedes to GP Shakhir allowed him to put an end to any scenarios about the overthrow of the historical statistic of Luca Badoer - even if the performance of finally rewarded just with a 9 the position.

Typically, in the event that this individual appearance was abandoned and there was little progress in Williams' performance, Russell was very likely to surpass the 50 "empty" matches in the 2021 Belgian GP and to unorthodoxly overtake the Italian in the relevant list.

Luca Badoer, the Formula 3000 champion in 1992, was definitely much more capable of driving than many today claim. He was by no means considered a world champion, but the label of incompetent driver that was given to him in 2009 after the brief replacement of Felipe Massa at Ferrari certainly does not belong to him.

Badoer's record-breaking failure record was also greatly favored by the scoring systems utilized in F1. In his maiden championship season in 1993, the Italian found himself in the desperately slow Lola T93 / 30 of the faltering Scuderia Italia and finished 7th in the chaotic GP San Marino. The points were then only given to the top 6 and, in fact, Badoer was one lap behind Sauber 's JJ Lehto 6 , whose engine had delivered spirit just two laps before the finish.

In total in his career he scored another 10 finishes in the top ten, a fact that under the current scoring system would place him at 26 points and would give the unwanted record mentioned above by Charles Pic (39 games in Marussia and Caterham).

Badoer's triumph in Formula 3000 was based on his team, Crypton Engineering , which innovated in the event using a single-shock suspension on the Reynard 92D. Based on this, he won 4 victories and stood worthy next to emerging names such as David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello. His show of absolute dominance in Enna-Pergusa began his quest for the title and he became one of only four drivers to win the F3000 title in their first attempt - the other three being Stefano Modena (1987) , Christian Fittipaldi (1991) and Jörg Müller (1996). However, when the F1 door "knocked", Luca Badoer's career never took a steady and upward trajectory again.

The Lola he faced in 1993 had been hastily established and never entered an aerodynamic tunnel until her plans had already been completed. It did not have active suspensions or traction control like most grid teams and, according to sources, produced only 30% of the vertical force of the top combinations. So since he was not a car worthy of helping fit a rookie, Badoer at least managed to learn little next to teammate Michele Alboreto . The veteran prevailed in the qualifying tests with a score of 8-6, before the poor finances of the team prevented her from appearing in the last two games of the season.

https://automotonews.gr/ypotimimenoi-afantoi-tis-f1-5-luca-badoer/