Unfortunately, Luca Badoer did not enjoy this privilege, as Ferrari has indeed confirmed the Italian will be leaving his spot within the Maranello organization at the end of the year inside a press release focused on the carmaker's presence in the Bologna Motor Show. Here's how half of paragraph refers to Badoer's leaving the Scuderia after more than a decade of services.
“(...) The high point of the programme will be the Formula 1 exhibition with which Luca Badoer will bring his extraordinary 13-year career as the Scuderia Ferrari’s official test-driver to an end. He’ll put an F60 through its paces and a simulated pit-stop, as a farewell homage to the tifosi and enthusiasts present,” said a small part of Ferrari's press release.
The news appeared in the media since last week, only it lacked confirmation from the Italian company. Badoer, who completed more than 130,000 km (almost 81,000 miles) of testing for Ferrari, yet made only 58 starts in F1 in the early '90s, did not announce his future plans. However, he'll leave Maranello with his dream fulfilled, as he got the chance to drive a Ferrari (officially) in the Great Circus last year, when substituting Felipe Massa at Valencia and Spa-Francorchamps.
He was then heavily criticized for his performances, despite having the benefit of not having raced an F1 single-seater in a proper race in more than 10 years.
As far as Ferrari's future test and reserve lineup is concerned, we're still to find out how that will play out in 2011. The Scuderia recently signed Jules Bianchi as a reserve for next year, a position currently occupied by both Marc Gene and Giancarlo Fisichella. The team is likely to make a clarifying statement on the status of each driver before the end of the year.
Google News