For those who insist that a driver makes little difference in a Formula 1 car. You can grant Luca Badoer all the excuses you want but I can't remember the last time a Ferrari driver qualified Dead effin Last with a healthy car. But nobody can really blame Badoer, the fault is with those who put him in such a position. If it's true that Ferrari has given up on the season, why not use the opportunity to test some new viable talent? Why, because Ferrari is, as often heard, "where drivers go to finish their careers" rather than start them? Old thinking.
These two laps are not Hamilton's or Badoer's qualifying laps but they give the idea well enough. Hamilton was great as was Kovalainen in P2 with a slightly heavier car. Badoer didn't even look like he fit in the car properly, look how much his head gets pushed down under braking. Maybe since he's fuelled for one stop, tomorrow some safety car will play his way, as they say, from last place he can only improve.
And here is the rest of it.
i've never understood why the testers are so often the choice to fill in for an injured/fired driver. sure, they know the car really well, but they're not racers, they're testers. it's not their job to be fast. it's their job to be consistent. i would have taken a flyer with coulthard or some italian kid driving in a feeder series before throwing luca in with the lions.
ReplyDeleteI reckon it might be the case that they Ferrari is selecting drivers with Massa's mental state in mind. They want him to recover patiently. With Badoer or Schumacher behind the wheel for a couple of races he can sleep easy. But if a young buck came in and was very quick Massa would want to rush back.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, it's worth noting the different camera positions in the two videos.
You could always say "but hey, he hasn't driven the car in 10 months so hes a little rusty"! But then again look at what Grosjean did today in his first race for Renault, hell he was only .2-.3 slower then Alonso at one point during practice and he has only tested an F1 car a few times.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Jonathan. It is incomprehensible why Badoer is so slow. Is he really that slow? Is he trying different stuff in the car?
ReplyDeleteI agree that test drivers sometimes are not racers, but they are marginally slower than the top guys so they can really test the car at the real limit; otherwise is useless.
Doesnt make any sense to put such a slow driver in the car. It just hurts Ferrari's image. There are many drivers in the world that can come within 1sec of the top guys; but that second is the toughest one to improve (and it might never happen) and its what draws the line between the champs and the rest of the field; but 3 seconds!!!! OMG!!.
I don't think anyone can explain it, even the "he's testing new bits" theory if iffy, Badoer is running 2.5 sec off the pace during the race. OK he's on a one stopper but still.
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