Ferrari plans to launch a young driver program

During an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, Ferrari team director Stefano Domenicali admitted to Scuderia’s fault and now aims for results with only one car driven by Kimi Räikkönen, following Massa’s accident in Hungary.

Unlike many teams that have implemented a young driver development program with the aim of eventually bringing them to Formula 1, Ferrari does not have such a structure in place. And when Massa was seriously injured in the head during qualifying at the Hungaroring, the Italian team did not have a young talent on hand to fill the seat of the second F60.

Initially, Michael Schumacher was called three years after he ended his career but was unable to complete his challenge due to a persistent neck injury. Therefore, the seat of Massa was taken by Luca Badoer, a loyal test driver for the Scuderia, but after 10 years away from the circuits, his disappointing results suggest that he will already be replaced after just two races.

Marc Gené, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June and also a test driver for the Scuderia, remains another possibility while a rumor suggests Giancarlo Fisichella alongside Räikkönen as early as the Italian Grand Prix. The possibilities remain wide open for Ferrari but with little foresight due to the lack of a “pool” of talented drivers for the future.

Yes, it’s a weakness of our team», acknowledged Domenicali in the columns of the German newspaper, referring to the need to replace Luca Badoer.

In the past years, Ferrari missed the opportunity to implement a program for young drivers, but we are going to work on it.

Due to its prestigious status, Ferrari has been recruiting experienced drivers for ages and has not hired a rookie since 1970 with the Italian Ignazio Giunti. As for the young talent detection program, the Italian F2 driver, Mirko Bortolotti, 19 years old, already seems to be on the Scuderia’s list after impressive tests at the end of 2008.