Team Ferrari F1 seems to have got the solution to the problem it has been prodding for over a month a now. Ferrari has confirmed that Felipe Massa will be replaced by Luca Badoer for the upcoming European Grand Prix, pulling down the curtains on the most debated issue in the F1 circles of late.

Ferrari has been in distress since Felipe Massa was injured in Hungarian Grand Prix on July 25, 2009 and soon after that it was speculated that Massa would be replaced by the legendary, seven-time world champion Micheal Schumacher.

Schumi who had been recalled for the event by Ferrari soon forced to back out and call off his participation at the Formula One racing because he was haunted by the neck injuries he sustained during a motorcycle race earlier in the year.

Now Ferrari left with no other options, has zeroed on Luca Badoer to replace the injured Felipe Massa at the upcoming European Grand Prix at Valencia. Ferrari has promoted its test driver Badoer to the race position for the next race in Valencia, as a reward for his many years of efforts with the team.

Luca Badoer has been a Ferrari test and reserve driver since 1998 and last raced in 1999 for Minardi. Luca Di Montezemolo has named the 38-year-old Italian to race for the Scuderia.

Luca Badoer is Ferrari’s longest ever serving test driver. He holds a distinction of being the only driver who has competed in the 48 Grand Prix without scoring a single point. He was about to achieve his first points finish in the 1999 European Grand Prix, but the gearbox on his Minardi failed with only thirteen laps to go.

Unable to find a satisfactory race seat in Formula One after 1999, Badoer became a permanent test driver for Ferrari. He covers thousands of kilometres at the Mugello and Fiorano test circuits each year and has probably driven more kilometres in a Ferrari Formula One car than any other Italian in history.