MOTORSPORT: Chump not champ for Ferrari

The fairytale of a Michael Schumacher comeback to Formula 1 is over just two weeks after it dawned.

The seven-time world champion, retired since the end of 2006, has had to concede that upper body injuries suffered in a motorcycle racing crash six months ago are too severe for him to compete in the European Grand Prix at Valencia, Spain, the weekend after next.

He does have a seat though, apparently bought for about US$200,000, in Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space capsule, set to launch in 2011.

Instead of regaining its most successful driver, winner of 91 GPs -- or having the thrill of Fernando Alonso or Robert Kubica race a Ferrari, or even Marc Gene at home in Spain -- F1 will have to settle for the least successful.

The injured Felipe Massa's Ferrari seat, in Valencia at least, is to be filled by Luca Badoer, the Scuderia's long-time, blindingly loyal Italian test driver who in 48 GPs with much lesser teams never scored a world championship point.

Badoer has not raced in a GP since 1999.

Only Dutchman Jan Lammers was out of F1 racing longer and came back -- and he was absent only a little longer and had only a little more success when he was there.

The only time Badoer seriously looked like getting points was at the '99 European GP at Germany's Nurburgring, where Australia's Mark Webber recently scored his first F1 victory.

But Badoer's Minardi had a gearbox failure that day as he headed for fourth place, famously reducing him to tears. His best finish was seventh at the 1993 San Marino GP in a Ferrari-engined Lola -- a result that would now reward him with two points. However, he has never qualified higher than 12th.

At 38 Badoer will be the oldest driver on the Valencia grid -- older even than Rubens Barrichello, although Schumi is even two years older.

Schumacher, who had the Ferrari tifosi in raptures with the announcement of his intended comeback, had been testing in karts and, for a day at Italy's Mugello circuit, in a 2007 F1 Ferrari.

The Williams team thwarted Ferrari's hopes of him testing a 2009 car -- quite rightly, as that privilege is now denied everyone during the season.

But the Schu did enough to realise his neck and head -- the most critical part of an F1 driver's body, required to withstand massive G forces -- were not up to GP racing again. So he had to break the bad news to Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and race team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Schumacher said on his website: "I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible, however, much to my regret it didn't work out.

"Unfortunately we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1 day in Mugello, even if medically or therapeutically we tried everything possible.

"The consequences of the injuries caused by the bike accident in February, fractures in the area of head and neck, unfortunately have turned out to be still too severe.

"That is why my neck cannot stand the extreme stresses caused by F1 yet. I am disappointed to the core.

"I am awfully sorry for the guys of Ferrari and for all the fans which crossed fingers for me. I can only repeat that I tried everything that was within my power. All I can do now is to keep my fingers crossed for the whole team for the coming races."

Without a win this year, and having dreamt of the great German orchestrating a Ferrari resurrection that the hugely overpaid Kimi Raikkonen appears little interested in, Montezemolo was clearly devastated by Schumacher's message.

"I am very unhappy that a problem means that Michael cannot return to racing," Montezemolo said. "In the past few days, I could appreciate his great efforts and extraordinary motivation which had spread through the team and fans around the world.

"No doubt his return would have been good for F1 and I am sure it would have seen him fighting for wins again.

"In the name of Ferrari and all the fans, I wish to thank him for the strong attachment he displayed for the team in these circumstances.

"In agreement with Stefano Domenicali, 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."

Schumacher's heart had said a very big yes in Ferrari's hour, indeed season, of need, but the body -- and eventually the head -- had said no.

What a pity the Spaniard Alonso, who beat Schumacher to the world title in the German's last two seasons, can't fill the Ferrari seat at Valencia.

As things stand, Alonso's Renault team is suspended from that race anyway for his errant wheel in the Hungarian GP, but -- as we've mentioned here previously -- perhaps the Scuderia snatching him now (instead of announcing at next month's Italian GP that he will join it eventually) might drive the Regie to quit F1, despite seemingly just having signed the new Concorde Agreement.

And the other star the F1 community would like to see in one of the red cars, Polish driver Robert Kubica, is destined to soldier to the end of this season in a hopelessly uncompetitive BMW-Sauber until the German manufacturer departs -- ignominiously in our view, having almost destroyed the wonderful creation of Peter Sauber and perhaps the careers of two fine drivers (Kubica and German Nick Heidfeld) in the process.

Even Marc Gene, Ferrari's other test driver (although there's really only pre-season testing these days) and once a Williams racer, would have made more sense than Badoer, at least for Valencia.

Gene is far more race-ready, having won the Le Mans 24-hour sports car classic with Australian David Brabham and Austrian Alex Wurz just a few weeks ago.

Instead, F1's greatest, most revered team seems to accept that this is -- to borrow an expression from Queen Elizabeth a few years back -- its annus horribilis.

And Valencia, the much-hyped new street circuit that last year produced the dullest GP of the season, may be just a procession again.

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Image: Badoer (left) and Schumacher - Getty Images

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