All the F1 action in Spain was off the track

It was perhaps inevitable that the European Grand Prix weekend in Valencia, Spain, was going to be a little flat. Michael Schumacher was there all right, and wearing Ferrari clothing--but not the driver�s suit virtually everyone hoped he would. Michael smiled a lot, and kept wishing Ferrari stand-in Luca Badoer well, but that didn�t really help. And as he stared at the timing screens, it was impossible to disguise his frustration at Badoer�s, er, modest pace.
During Friday practice, the hapless Badoer set a record by exceeding the pit lane speed limit on four different occasions-�as the paddock�s razor-tongued observers noted, somewhat cruelly, that no one could accuse him of excessive speed on the race track. In qualifying, the No. 3 Ferrari was dead last; 12 months ago, driven by Felipe Massa, it dominated the weekend.
You had to have some sympathy for Badoer, however, as he had not raced an F1 car since 1999, and though he is Ferrari�s official test driver, has virtually no experience of the F60 now that in-season testing is banned.
Some wondered why Ferrari did not draft a guy such as Sebastien Bourdais, whom Scuderia Toro Rosso fired recently. Bourdais may not have set F1 on fire, but he is at least very much race-fit, and fully conversant with both the Ferrari engine and Bridgestone slicks.
Though Ferrari will not make the announcement before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next month, Fernando Alonso is to drive for the team in 2010, with Massa--assuming he recovers fully from his injuries suffered in Hungary--returning to partner him.
The suggestion in Valencia was that Ferrari reached an agreement with Kimi Raikkonen to end his contract a year early. During three years with the team, Raikkonen, despite nicking the world championship two years ago, has rarely looked anything like the driver he was at McLaren-Mercedes, and it is not known whether he will stay in F1--Renault has been mentioned--or perhaps turn his hand to rallying. During the recent summer break, Kimi took part in Rally Finland--he rolled his car--but not before impressing onlookers with his raw speed.
Given that it is now accepted that Alonso will join Ferrari, the driver market has come very much to life, and of course BMW�s forthcoming withdrawal has contributed to that: Robert Kubica, who has the measure of anyone in terms of natural talent, is unexpectedly available.
Kubica has been linked with three teams--McLaren, Renault and Williams--but the belief at the moment is that current Williams driver Nico Rosberg will join his old karting teammate Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. Renault, soon to lose Alonso, is believed to be keen to sign Kubica, but Robert himself is believed to have more enthusiasm for Williams, a team very much on the up at the moment.
Williams� problem for 2010 could be engines, for it is known that Toyota, which has supplied the team for the last three years, is profoundly displeased by Williams� stance in the recent FIA-FOTA battle, and may well terminate the contract. Rumors abound that Red Bull Racing will use Mercedes engines next year; if that happens, Williams and Renault could very well renew the highly successful partnership last seen in the mid-�90s.
Quite evident in Valencia qualifying was that McLaren is emphatically back on its game. Hamilton won in Hungary, but perhaps his car wasn�t the out-and-out quickest: at Valencia, though, Lewis won the pole, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen alongside him.
Only McLaren and Ferrari still use kinetic energy recovery systems, and as the teams improve their once lamentable cars, KERS can make a difference: An extra 80 hp for six seconds a lap can come in quite handy. Imagine the advantage it might provide in the next race, at Spa, up the long hill from Eau Rouge to Les Combes. Indeed, Hamilton will not retain his title this year, but he may well have a say in who takes it.

By NIGEL ROEBUCK

Hamilton optimistic for F1 Valencia street fight

Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to pick-up this weekend on the streets of Valencia where he left off in Budapest last month when he takes part in the European Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Englishman claimed his first win of the season last time out in Hungary for McLaren Mercedes and with a package of improvements on his car believes he can challenge for another win after Formula One's month-long summer break.
Hamilton said: "It's great to be getting back to business after the break and I'm still buzzing from the win in Hungary.
"I'm hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend - particularly with our new upgrades to the car."
His team boss Martin Whitmarsh is also optimistic that after a desultory start to the year, McLaren will be back with plenty to prove in the second half of the season.
He said he believed the latest upgrades for the MP4-24 car will give Hamilton a great chance to win again on the Mediterranean street circuit laid out around the harbour of the Spanish city.
Whitmarsh said: "It's very important that we are able to maintain the winning momentum into this weekend's race. Fortunately, we have made a structured effort to bring further improvements to the car in Spain.
"The whole team has been buoyed by that win and is really looking forward to another strong set of results this weekend."
Hamilton's improvement and optimism is bad news for championship-leading fellow-Briton Jenson Button of Brawn GP and his Red Bull rivals as they see the title race thrown wide open.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso is another challenger who could upset all the easy predictions of a Button v Sebastian Vettel duel for the crown as the Renault driver bids to give his home fans plenty to cheer in Sunday's race.
He secured his first pole position of the season in Hungary and believes he can fight for a podium this weekend.
"Our performance in Hungary was encouraging as the car was quick and we managed to get pole, which was actually a bit of a surprise," he said.
"To retire from the race was disappointing, but I'm looking on the bright side because I think that the car can be just as competitive in Valencia.
"Last year my race there was very short - less than a lap - so I'm really determined to make up for that this weekend and hopefully we can fight for the podium."
A strong showing by Alonso may also go some way to quell the disappointment of those who bought tickets in anticipation of seeing seven times champion Michael Schumacher make a dramatic comeback for Ferrari as replacement for injured Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Massa crashed in Hungary and suffered head and eye injuries after debris from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car flew up and hit him.
But after injuring his neck in a motorbike accident in February Schumacher has failed in his fitness fight to make a return and instead Ferrari will run veteran Italian Luca Badoer, a test driver, in the car.
Badoer said: "I have to say, my first thoughts when I take to the track will be for Felipe, because I got a real fright when I saw his accident.
"I have to add that I am also thinking of Michael, because having trained with him over the last few weeks, I know how much he wanted to make this comeback and how much effort he was putting into his preparation."
Massa has made good progress and is targeting a comeback in the season's penultimate race his home Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo.
Button, desperate to recover his form after three races without a win that have seen his lead trimmed heavily, said: "I've kept pretty busy over the past few weeks with the London Triathlon at the start of the month and then some time to relax with my family and friends, but it's seemed like a long time without a race!
"Valencia is a beautiful city and the track is quite fun when it goes round the edge of the marina and over the bridge. It's quite challenging for the drivers with so many turns and the added factor of being surrounded by barriers.So, it will be an interesting weekend."

European Grand Prix Preview - Valencia GP

The 11th round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship sees yet more driver changes. Of course, the original plan was to have Michael Schumacher making his return to Formula One for Ferrari amid much fanfare, but the multiple champion�s neck injury ruled him out.

Instead, Luca Badoer returns to the category for the first time in almost 10 years, intent on finishing the race and scoring the first world championship points of his F1 career. At the same time, GP2 star Romain Grosjean takes over from Nelson Piquet at Renault, who will be racing after the suspension handed down to them by the stewards in Hungary was overturned by the FIA Court of Appeal in Paris on Monday.

Both teams ran well here last year, and have high hopes now, but Red Bull and McLaren both fancy their chances and Brawn are desperate for Jenson Button to increase his points� lead which has been seriously eroded in the past three events.

�The track is quite fun when it goes round the edge of the marina and over the bridge,� Button says. �It's quite challenging for the drivers with so many turns and the added factor of being surrounded by barriers means you have to maintain your concentration. There's been a lot of work going on at the factory following our shutdown and with the cars at the front being so close at the moment, it will be an interesting weekend."

It remains to be seen whether Brawn have got to the bottom of their tyre temperature issues, and the signs are that Valencia won�t be as warm as Hungary, where they struggled.

�It�s great to be getting back to business after the four-week break,� Hungarian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton says. �I�m still buzzing from the win in Hungary and I�m hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend - particularly with our new upgrades to the car. It�s a very demanding circuit, the kind of place that punishes any mistakes hard. It�s quite tight and relatively slow, so it should suit our package. It�s also very difficult to overtake, as we discovered last year - but, with our KERS, Mercedes-Benz has proved that anything can happen and I�m once again hoping that it will provide the difference in the race.�

The 5.419-kilometre (3.367-mile) street course uses roads that run through the recently refurbished Juan Carlos I Marina, formerly the base for the 32nd America's Cup in 2007. It features 25 corners and a minimum width of 14 metres all the way around the lap, and incorporates sufficient run-off for the expected top speeds of more than 300 km/h (186 mph). Even though it�s a street track, drivers are on the throttle 68 percent of the time, and with relatively high levels of downforce and high brake wear teams must be canny with their set-ups.

The race will mark the 150th race win for Bridgestone�s F1 tyres. �This is an interesting track,� says Hirohide Hamashima, their director of motorsport tyre development. �It has the high-speed configuration of a permanent circuit, however the track surface gives away that this is only a temporary facility. There are numerous turns, yet there are also many high speed sections and we see speeds of around 300 km/h five times during the course of a lap. There are low-speed corners too, so some heavy braking does take place. On the slippery surface that accompanies a street course it is difficult to find grip off line.

�Last year we saw a lot of circuit surface evolution over the weekend and it was very much a learning process for everyone who attended the race. We also found last year that the infamous gap between the bridge surface and the road surface presented no difficulties for our Formula One tyres. Last year our visit to Valencia was a momentous one as it was here that we celebrated our 200th Grand Prix participation since our entry in 1997.�

As in Hungary, Bridgestone will again bring their soft and super soft compounds.

Luca Badoer - Some infos...

Badoer set to race for Ferrari in Valencia

Following the news that Michael Schumacher has had to call off his planned return to Formula One racing, Ferrari have announced that test driver Luca Badoer has been drafted in to race at the European Grand Prix later this month.Schumacher had hoped to stand in for the injured Felipe Massa in Valenica, but neck pain caused by a motorcycle accident earlier this year, has forced him to abandon his comeback plans. "I am very unhappy that a problem means that Michael cannot return to racing," explained Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo. �In the past few days, I have appreciated his great efforts and the extraordinary motivation which had spread through the team and fans around the world. No doubt his return would have been good for Formula One and I am sure it would have seen him fighting for wins again. �In the name of Ferrari and all the fans, I wish to thank him for the strong attachment he displayed for the team in these circumstances. In agreement with (team principal) Stefano Domenicali, we have therefore decided to give Luca Badoer the chance to race for the Scuderia after he has put in so many years of hard work as a test driver."Badoer has tested for the Italian team since 1998 and last raced in a Grand Prix back in 1999 for Minardi.

Luca Badoer (born January 25, 1971) is an Italian Formula One driver who has raced for the Scuderia Italia, Minardi and Forti Corse teams, and is presently a test driver for the Ferrari F1 team.
Career
Badoer was born in Montebelluna, Veneto.
Prior to reaching Formula One, he graduated through the time-honoured route of karting, in which he was Italian champion. He beat Alex Zanardi in the final round of the 1990 Italian Formula 3 Championship. In 1991 he won four races in a row, but was disqualified after a technicality concerning his tyres. For 1992 he was offered a ride with Team Crypton for the F3000 Championship, in which he emerged as champion.
His debut Formula One season in 1993 was mired by Scuderia Italia's uncompetitive Lola chassis, which, despite Ferrari engines, was the slowest car in the championship in terms of qualifying pace. He regularly beat his experienced team-mate Michele Alboreto, but lost out to him for the second drive when Scuderia Italia merged with Minardi for the 1994 season. He was retained as test driver however, and took over the drive in 1995 when Alboreto retired. In the underfunded team his best results were eighth places in Canada and Hungary and ninth in Japan. In 1996 he switched to Forti Corse, where he was only able to qualify for six of the ten races the team entered, which folded after that year's British Grand Prix.

In 1997 Badoer began his long spell as Ferrari's test driver, a role he continues to perform. He returned to racing for one season in 1999, with the Minardi team. In the July of that season, Ferrari's number one driver Michael Schumacher broke his leg in an accident at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. As Ferrari's test driver, Badoer expected to be promoted to the race seat in Schumacher's absence, but the team opted for Mika Salo instead, prompting criticism from former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi.
Badoer holds the dubious distinction of being the driver who has competed in the most Grands Prix (48) without scoring a single point. He nearly achieved his first points finish in the 1999 European Grand Prix when a strong drive saw Badoer lying in 4th place with only 13 laps remaining. Unfortunately the gearbox on his Minardi subsequently failed and television cameras showed Badoer weeping by his car.

Badoer was unable to find a satisfactory race seat in Formula One after 1999, and he became a permanent test driver for Ferrari. He covers thousands of kilometres at the Mugello and Fiorano test circuits each year and it is likely that Badoer has driven more kilometres in a Ferrari F1 car than any other Italian in history.
At the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Badoer demonstrated one of the team's 2005 cars in the centre of the stadium, revving the engine, and performing several doughnuts, creating a large cloud of tyre smoke, and leaving circular black marks on the white platform. The event was witnessed by millions of television viewers worldwide.