Ferrari's Important Decision - The 20th Driver

As Felipe Massa and his increasing following begin the long wait for recovery the formula 1 world now looks ahead to the Grand Prix of Valencia. What surely will be on the minds of many will be the question of Massa’s emergency replacement.

Names have been mentioned, old faces and new, but as of yet no-one seems to be firmly in the driving seat for being given a drive for the vastly improved 2009 Ferrari.

Whoever it may be will have big shoes to fill, as Massa’s last season and a half has showing the impressive steps forward that the talented Brazilian has made, and why such a drive warrants such an impressive driver.

So with a couple of obvious choices and some possible surprises here are the current challengers to take over the hot seat possibly for the remainder of the season.

Choice #1 - Marc Gene

Currently a test driver for the Ferrari team, Marc has raced in thirty six Grand Prix in total. Most of these were in the backend Minardi team, with just a handful of additional races behind the wheel of a Williams. He scored very little in the way of points, with his highest finish of fifth place gained in his debut Grand Prix for Williams in the 2003 Italian Grand Prix.

Gene at times showed certain levels of promise, however never enough to warrant a continuous seat in an F1 cockpit, but his recent work as test driver could put him in good stead for the drive for what could be the remainder of the season.

Choice #2 - Luca Badoer

Next up is the second test driver for Ferrari’s 2009 campaign. Luca has spent many years in the shadows of Formula 1 and has never seen the light of day on a racing weekend in this current millennium – his last drive being in 1999. He also has the unfortunate title of being a nil point scorer, having managed not a single point’s finish in 48 grand prix starts – the most for any driver to not score a point.

Many will remember however his heroic performance in the 1999 European Grand Prix where whilst lying in fourth place just fourteen laps from the finish his gearbox spectacularly failed, and viewers were left with the uneasy sight of Luca stricken with absolute grief.

You somewhat feel that he possibly deserves a drive just to put paid to his unwelcome feat of his lack of points, providing of course that he could lift a Ferrari into such a finish.

He also carried the added bonus of seating an Italian driver in an Italian team in preparation for the teams’ upcoming home Grand Prix.

Choice #3 - The Legend Returns?

Yet many who hold a Tifosi torch will be hoping one name will emerge victorious in the race for Massa’s replacement.
Yes, indeed, there have been rumours of a return for the 40 year old seven times champion and multiple record holder Michael Schumacher.

And why not. Rubens Barrichello, not far off Schumacher’s age has shown that even the old boys still have a point to prove and some pace to produce.

And although Schumacher has himself denied a full time return to the sport as he is contracted as an advisor for Ferrari, the emphasis has to be placed on him not making a FULL return to the sport.

His publicist has actually declared that this does not rule out a temporary return. This is especially under the special circumstances with the prospect of Michael replacing his younger protégé and good friend Felipe, after their emerging friendship since Michael’s last season as with the young Brazilian acting as his final team mate.

Many would welcome such a return for the German, even those who opposed to his stubborn arrogance at times shown on and off the track.

Choice #4 - The F1 Pundit

One of the unluckiest drivers ever to grace the sport and one stuck on an unlucky number of wins, the flying Scot David Coulthard is also rumoured to be in talks with the Ferrari team.

It was heartbreaking to see DC’s career harshly ended in Brazil last year due to a collision out of his hands.
Rumours are abound that maybe DC could emerge into a Ferrari for a final goodbye in an aim to increase his victory tally to at least fourteen, and put further emphasis on his current record of being the highest scoring British driver in Formula 1 history.

Of course such a return can easily be rejected by those considering who will take the drive due to Coulthards' illustrious career and on track battles with his long time rivals and his main adversaries at Ferrari.

Choice #5 - The Disillusioned Champion

Although the Spaniard has vehemently denied a move to Ferrari for the 2010 season, many have speculated that his lack of competitiveness with Renault will push Fernando Alonso towards a seat in the team for next season.

Therefore it would make perfect sense to elevate himself towards the Tifosi prematurely and leave Renault having to fill a void of a world class driver next to the lacklustre Nelson Piquet Jr.

Such a move would be a disaster for Renault, who were reportedly on the verge of sacking their number two driver before the Hungarian Grand Prix, but none the less such a move would make logical sense for a capable driver needing a capable team to produce accurate results of his quality.

Choice #6 - The Fallen Frenchman

An unlikely, but yet rumoured name amongst the challengers for the Ferrari seat is recently fired Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Bourdais. His sacking was somewhat horrific considering the lack of points scored by drivers in more efficient cars such as Kazuki Nakajima and the aforementioned Piquet Jr.

However in a more effective car the Frenchman could be given an opportunity to stake a claim to a future formula 1 seat as opposed to disappearing into the realms of F1 obscurity.
His cause is helped a little by the stated fact that he does indeed share the same manager as Felipe Massa and this could translate into edging him what could be a final chance at Formula 1 glory. The likelihood however is that his time is up and he will have to face the harsh reality that he may never get another chance.

Choice #7 - The Newest Talent

Finally there is also the relative unknown by the name of Mirko Bortolotti, who is currently racing in the Formula 2 series. Although he will be considered far too young to take such a prized seat at the age of 19 he has reportedly impressed the Ferrari team in a recent test session, and if Ferrari chose to risk it all on the talented youngster, then this impressive beginning to the sports highest tier could come fully into fruition.

It would also give the youngster a chance to get a firm foothold into the sport and gift him a drive in future seasons.

On Reflection

If Ferrari were to think with their heads and give the drive to the most likely successor to Massa’s drive then the seat would obviously go to Fernando Alonso. However a return for either Schumacher or Coulthard would bring a wealth of experience and proven pace to the team as they aim to progress further up the field in the second half of the season.

However it is more than likely that one of the current test drivers will garner the seat for the foreseeable future, with Badoer hoping to exit the history books as statistically the worst ever driver, and Gene aiming to prove that his time waiting in the wings of the sport has been well spent.

Whatever the result, Ferrari are on the rise again, and despite Massa’s misfortunes have the ability to continue their journey back to the front of the field and allow Massa the opportunity to return after a full recovery to a team with ambition and renewed optimism gritty determination.