Luca Badoer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Luca Badoer
Badoer in 2021
Born	(1971-01-25) 25 January 1971 (age 54) Montebelluna, Veneto, Italy
Spouse(s)	Alice Terzi
Children	2, including Brando
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1993, 1995–1996, 1999, 2009
Teams	Scuderia Italia, Minardi, Forti, Ferrari
Entries	58 (50 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1993 South African Grand Prix
Last entry	2009 Belgian Grand Prix

Luca Badoer is an Italian former racing driver. He was born on January 25, 1971. Luca competed in Formula One races from 1993 to 2009. He also worked as a very important test driver for the famous Ferrari team for many years.

Luca started racing karts when he was young. He then moved up to bigger racing cars. He won a championship called Formula 3000 in 1992. In Formula One, he raced for teams like Scuderia Italia, Minardi, and Forti. He is known for racing in the most Grand Prix races without scoring points. However, the rules for scoring points were different back then. If today's rules were used, he would have scored many points!

Luca's Early Racing Days

Luca Badoer was born in Montebelluna, Italy. He started racing karts in 1985. He won two races in his first year. In 1986, he became the karting champion of Venice. The next year, he won the national championship. He also won the Italian championship in 1988.

Racing in Formula Three and Formula 3000

In 1989, Luca started racing in single-seater cars. These are cars with only one seat for the driver. He joined the Trivellato team in the Italian Formula Three Championship. In 1990, he won the last race of the season.

In 1991, he won four races in a row. But he was disqualified because of a small rule about his tires. In 1992, Luca moved up to the Formula 3000 Championship. He drove for Crypton Engineering. Luca won four races that year. He won the Formula 3000 title on his first try. This was a big achievement!

Luca's Formula One Career

Starting in Formula One (1993)

Luca Badoer joined BMS Scuderia Italia for his first Formula One season in 1993. Their car was not very fast. In his first race in South Africa, he had to stop because of a problem with the car's gearbox. In Brazil, he finished 12th.

At a race in Imola, Luca drove very well and was in sixth place for a while. He finished seventh, which was his best result in Formula One. After the 1993 season, Luca became a test driver for the Minardi team.

Racing with Minardi (1995)

Badoer driving for Minardi at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

In 1995, Luca returned to racing for Minardi. The team did not have a lot of money. In Argentina, he crashed with another car. His best results that year were eighth places in Canada and Hungary. He also finished ninth in Japan.

Joining Forti (1996)

In 1996, Luca moved to the Forti Corse team. He was able to qualify for six of the ten races. In Argentina, he was in a big crash but was not hurt. At the Monaco race, he crashed with another driver and had to stop. The Forti Corse team stopped racing after the British Grand Prix that year.

Racing in FIA GT Championship

In 1997, Luca raced in the FIA GT Championship. He drove a Lotus Elise GT1 car. He also started his important job as a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari. He kept this job until 2010.

Return to Formula One Racing

Back with Minardi (1999)

Luca Badoer returned to Formula One racing in 1999, again with the Minardi team. In Australia, he was in fifth place but had to stop because of gearbox problems. Before the Brazil race, he broke his hand in a testing accident. Another driver took his place for that race.

Luca's best chance to score points came at the 1999 European Grand Prix. He was in fourth place, which would have given him points. But his gearbox failed with only 13 laps left. He was very sad about this.

Ferrari Test Driver (2000s)

Badoer testing for Ferrari in 2008.

After 1999, Luca focused on his job as the main test driver for Scuderia Ferrari. He drove thousands of kilometers each year to help develop their cars. He helped Ferrari win their first Formula One Drivers' Championship in 21 years in 2000.

At the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Luca showed off one of Ferrari's F1 cars. He drove it around the stadium and did some cool spins.

Racing for Ferrari (2009)

Badoer took part in his first Formula One race in ten years at the 2009 European Grand Prix.

Badoer was replaced after the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.

In August 2009, Luca Badoer returned to Formula One racing after almost 10 years. He took the place of Felipe Massa, who was injured. Another famous driver, Michael Schumacher, was supposed to take the spot, but he also had an injury. Ferrari chose Luca as a "thank you" for his hard work as a test driver.

Luca had not raced in a Formula One Grand Prix for a long time. He had never driven the Ferrari F60 car before. In his first practice session, he was slower than the other drivers. He qualified in last place for the race. He also got fined for speeding in the pit lane.

Some other drivers defended Luca. They said it was very hard to jump into a race car after so many years. Luca finished 17th in the race. Ferrari decided to keep him for the next race in Belgium.

At the Belgian Grand Prix, Luca again qualified last. He finished 14th in the race. After this race, Ferrari replaced him with another driver, Giancarlo Fisichella. Luca felt that the negative news stories about his driving led to this decision.

Retirement from Ferrari

At the end of 2010, Luca Badoer retired from his role as a test driver for Ferrari. He had been with the team for 12 years. He showed off the Ferrari F60 car one last time at a motor show. He said his only regret was that he only got to race in two Grand Prix for Ferrari.

Luca's Family Life

Luca Badoer is married and has two children. His son, Brando, is also a racing driver. Brando started racing karts in 2017. In 2023, Brando finished 6th in the Italian F4 Championship. Brando is now part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme.

Racing Records

International Formula 3000 Results

Formula One Results

FIA GT Championship Results

See also

In Spanish: Luca Badoer para niños