[BudVlad]

If Badoer remains in the car for further races, with Felipe Massa unlikely to return for some time, he might get the chance to become the first Italian to race for Ferrari at Monza since Ivan Capelli in 1992.
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is on September 13th. The last Italian to race for Ferrari at an Italian round of the world championship was Nicola Larini at Imola in 1994.

Luca di Montezemolo described his decision to put Badoer in the car as a thank-you for Badoer’s 11 years as a Ferrari test driver – but did not indicate whether he would only race as a one-off: “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.”
Not everyone’s happy about it, though – Spanish motorsport federation president Carlos Gracia has criticised Ferrari’s decision to pick Badoer over their other test driver, Spaniard Marc Gene, who has more recent F1 experience.

[vgame64]

Good for him! I just hope he doesn't break down crying next to his car again!

(That may be before most people's F1 years on the board...if so...just and move on )

[BudVlad]

Luca Badoer holds the dubious distinction of having the most race starts without a single point:

1) Badoer made his F1 debut back in 1993 with Scuderia Italia, the first of four Italian teams he would race for. Minardi, Forti Corse and now Ferrari being the other three.
2) The Italian holds the rather dubious distinction of being the driver who has competed in the most grands prix - 48 - thout scoring a single World Championship point. His best finish was a seventh place in the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix back in the days when only the top-six would score.
3) The closest he ever came to scoring points was at the 1999 European Grand Prix when he was lying in 4th place with only 13 laps remaining. Sadly, the gearbox of his Minardi gave up on him and he was famously caught by television cameras weeping next to his stricken car on the side of the road.
4) Badoer also on six occasions failed to qualify for a grand prix: At the European and Monaco grands prix in 1993, and for Australia, Europe, Spain and Britain in 1996.
5) He first joined Ferrari in 1997 as a test driver, which means he is officially their longest-serving test driver. He has holds the distinction of completing more laps in a Ferrari car than any other Italian driver.
6) He almost raced for Ferrari in 1999, mid-way through his one-year stint with Minardi, as the Scuderia sought a replacement for Michael Schumacher, who broke his leg in the British GP. The team, though, instead opted for Mika Salo.
7) Ten years later, Badoer is finally getting his chance to race for Ferrari and once again it's because one of their regular drivers, Felipe Massa, is injured.
8) The last time Ferrari had an Italian driver was in 1994 when Nicola Larini competed for the Scuderia in the Pacific and San Marino GPs. Ferrari are rumoured to have an unwritten policy against hiring Italians as the pressure put on the drivers by their home country is too much.
9) When he lines up on the grid at the European GP, Badoer will officially become the oldest driver in this year's Championship as he's a year, four months and two days older than Rubens Barrichello.