Having completed his first Formula One race in nearly ten years, Luca Badoer has his eyes set firmly on an improved result from Spa this weekend. The 38 year old Italian talked to Shell Motorsport about his recovery from Valencia, his confidence ahead of Spa and the changing face of Formula One.

In the shadow of the Ardennes forests, Luca Badoer spoke exclusively to Shell Motorsport about his return to racing at Spa. Badoer looked back at the European Grand Prix as being a test run and the chance for him to get the feel of the Ferrari F60.

“I’m sure that this race will be much better than the first one because you know, the Formula One car is a very difficult car and if you drive it for the first time at a difficult track that you have never seen, obviously you will have a lot of problems,” he explained.

This time out at Spa-Francorchamps, a circuit he knows very well, he feels that he can expect a much greater performance from himself and the team...

“For sure Spa will be much better. I cannot say what result I will do but it will be much better than Valencia.”

The sport has certainly changed a great deal since Badoer last raced in 1999. With the re-introduction of slick tyres and the usual off-the-track disputes, the Italian driver believes that the sport should focus more on the racing.

“Formula One at the moment from my point of view is a little bit too much about politics, but there are other good things and very good organisations.” Badoer commented.

 When asked what those good things were, the Scuderia Ferrari driver continued...

“The car is in a good proportion with the engine, the aero, with the tyres and the tracks are much more safe. Singapore is the first night race so we have a big evolution, but everything is good for the sport.”

After the excitement that surrounded his return to Formula One racing, Luca Badoer will once again be happy to get back in the car at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. When talking to Shell Motorsport, he did, however, have a point of view on the testing regulations for 2009...

“My personal opinion is that we should have a little bit more testing during the season because in a case like my case it was very difficult and without sense to put a driver in the middle of the race without testing. I think we need to change something and think about it.”