AMD get HEXUS on the red line
Veteran Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer will stand in for Felipe Massa at this weekend's Grand Prix. Here's a flashback to our exclusive 2004 interview, providing an insight into the man himself.Interview first published on Thursday 8th July, 2004.
In a blaze of high octane and gleaming carbon fibre, Tuesday night saw Formula 1 come to London, but just before the huge horsepower engines got fired for a maiden spin around the streets of the England's capital, HEXUS were top of the invite list to get up close and personal with Ms. Jane Parisi of Ferrari's Press Office for the first ever interview of Ferrari's seasoned Test Driver - Luca Badoer.
Ever pushing the boundaries, Formula 1 has evolved to become highly reliant upon forward looking technology partners and HEXUS were put together with Ferrari by the hospitable Theresa Zimmer of AMD UK's Press Office.
No Formula 1 enthusiast can have missed the fact that AMD are one of Ferrari's major Formula 1 sponsors, but it's not just a case of AMD laying down the bucks for a bit of exposure on the flanks of the most esoteric of Maranello's Prancing Pony's, no - AMD are also Ferrari's sole information technology partner for Formula 1 and, we're told, they have been key to the recent consistency of the Ferrari track story
As we have said Italian Luca Badoer is Ferrari's test driver.
Luca was born in Montebelluna, Italy on January 25, 1971. His motor racing debut was at 14 years old when he won two races and came third in the Italian Cadet Karting Championship. After five victorious seasons in karting, he went on to Formula 3 in the Italian Championship in 1990.
In his first season he won the race at Vallelunga, and in 1991 he won four races, coming in an impressive fourth out of the fifty competitors in the Championship. His definitive season was in 1992 when he won the Formula 3 Intercontinental title by a huge margin, with four victories and five poll positions.
He has raced in 51 Formula One Grand Prix events, making his debut in South Africa in 1993 at the wheel of the Lola-Ferrari on the Italia Team. He arrived at Ferrari in 1998, and in 2004 is his seventh season as Ferrari test driver.
His experiences and talent makes him invaluable to Ferrari in a spot which is highly technical and requires a test driver who is able to give accurate and in depth feedback on the various programs which are run during a Formula One test.