Ahead of his return to F1 race duty, Luca Badoer spent two days at Maranello, where he was able to prepare with the team for the European GP.

Until Sunday evening, the racing department at Maranello was closed for the F1 summer holiday, with work finally resuming first thing on Monday morning. Badoer has many things to do ahead of his race return and his ride in the F60 for a video and photo shoot for the team and its partners at the Fiorano race track almost became secondary.

"These 200 kilometres were absolutely insignificant from a technical point of view, but they allowed me to get to know the car again," said Badoer before leaving for his hometown Montebelluna. "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."

The Italian can count on the special support of Michael Schumacher at Valencia. "I'm glad that Michael will be with the team, I'm sure he can give me some important tips," said Badoer. "Over the last days we've spoken very often and we even trained together when he was still trying to get ready to race. I was really sad, because I know how much he would have liked it. Although I am now able to make my dream come true, I am his friend, his admirer and his fan."

In Valencia Badoer will meet another old friend of his, Kimi Raikkonen. "We've got an excellent relationship and I'm sure that we'll work very well together as teammates. He's got his character, but that's nothing new; I feel very good when we're together."

As far as Montebelluna, his hometown is concerned, Badoer said: "They celebrated for two days after Ferrari had announced that I will race instead of Felipe. I was very happy and I also want to thank all the fans for their support."