Badoer
Completes Thinly
Veiled Test

While I admit to know little of the particulars of the "promotional event", I should not think it a stretch to state 200 kilometres of running as more than just a bit of photography and video work.

Of course, it would also happen to have been completed by the driver just swapped in for the upcoming race. It would be rather bizarre to create promotional material without the Scuderia's main drivers and while Massa was clearly out of the picture and Raikkonen perhaps off galavanting about Western Europe, Badoer's involvement is really quite strange.

I do hope everyone clearly sees this event as a test, which is in fact against the regulations of the sport. Of course, Ferrari can label the running as something to avoid penalties and I suppose they should be seen as clever for doing so. Luca gained valuable running time in the current F60 car and the Scuderia was no doubt able to run some tests and sort Badoer for the car.

With this said though, I am a bit ashamed of the team. They have made a rather boldfaced lie and I do not support their doing so. Regardless of whether one agrees with the in season testing ban or not, it is in place and teams are meant to abide by the rules. Ferrari has not. Or at least I cannot see they have.

Regardless of all this business, Luca was pleased with his running, promotional or otherwise:

"These 200 kilometres were absolutely insignificant from a technical point of view, but they allowed me to get to know the car again.

I have a good impression and it's obvious that there's a difficult task waiting for me at Valencia. The first race will help me to get back into the rhythm of a Formula 1 weekend. I haven't set myself any goals, just to end the race."