Just before the summer break Kimi Raikkonen finished second in Budapest and today the Ferrari driver was on the podium again this time in third place while on his debut for the Scuderia Luca Badoer brought his F60 home in seventeenth

Toro Rosso had little positive to report in Valencia this afternoon with Sebastien Buemi's race effectively ending at the first corner while 19-year-old Jaime Alguersuari plodded along at the back of the field to finish a distant sixteenth

Kimi Raikkonen was satisfied after qualifying on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s European Grand Prix although his new Ferrari team mate Luca Badoer found the going much tougher on his F1 comeback and he will start at the back

Scuderia Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi carried his improved Friday form into this afternoon's qualifying session in Valencia and the young Swiss rookie made it through to the Q2 phase to eventually secure fifteenth place on the grid

There was a small moment of history this morning when Felipe Massa’s replacement, Luca Badoer rolled down pit lane to start his first ever practice lap as a Ferrari race driver and for the Italian, in his Italian car, it was a childhood dream come true

Toro Rosso made a promising start to the weekend in Valencia this afternoon with Sebastien Buemi knocking on the door of the top ten during the opening practice runs while Jaime Alguersuari was thirteenth quickest in the same session

"My last race was 10 years ago but I did in these 10 years close to 150,000kms with a F1 car," said Luca Badoer today in Valencia, "I am used to doing two race distances in one day because of the tests sometimes we did two races in a day"

After the long mid-season break in the F1 calendar, it was business as usual in a very hot and sunny Valencia today, where Kimi Raikkonen faced the media in the Ferrari motorhome, overlooking the harbour that forms a backdrop to the circuit

"Last year I didn’t end the race at Valencia caused by an engine failure," says Kimi Raikkonen, "so this year I want to return and maybe even gain a place on the podium. This is our realistic goal, although we know that it will be difficult"

"These 200 kilometres were absolutely insignificant from a technical point of view, but they allowed me to get to know the car again," says Luca Badoer after his test at Fiorano and as he heads for Valencia where he will make his Ferrari debut

ItaliaspeedTV: Luca Badoer interview - Ferrari F60 test (Fiorano) & European Grand Prix (Valencia) preview

With a two day test at Fiorano under his belt Luca Badoer says that he is motivated to make the most of the opportunity to drive his first grand prix for Ferrari although the Italian test driver says he will face a tough challenge in Valencia

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Luca Badoer (Ferrari F60) - Fiorano Test, Aug 17-18

Felipe Massa is aiming to make his comeback in his home race in Brazil, the penultimate grand prix of the season which takes place on October 18, meaning he will have been out of action for just under three months and missed five races

Luca Badoer has just wrapped up 200 km at the wheel of a Ferrari F60 fitted with demonstration tyres providing the Italian with the chance to reacquaint himself with the car in which he had only completed a handful of laps so far this year

While Ferrari reports that Felipe Massa's recovery is going very well the Scuderia has announced that stand-in driver Luca Badoer will get behind the wheel of the F60 at Fiorano today as he prepares for his Prancing Horse debut in Valencia

It was a long and difficult press conference with Michael Schumacher at the Hotel Intercontinental at Geneva yesterday as the German explained the reasons for his decision to interrupt his physical preparation for the European Grand Prix

"Since I've been a child I always wanted to race for Ferrari and now I've got the possibility to make this desire come true," Scuderia Ferrari Test Driver Luca Badoer, who will deputise for the injured Felipe Massa in Valencia, said in an interview

After more than a decade as a Ferrari Test Driver Luca Badoer will deputise for the injured Felipe Massa in Valencia after Michael Schumacher cancelled his F1 comeback due to injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident in February

ItaliaspeedTV: Stefano Domenicali interview - "Shortcomings of 2009 regulations"

Michael Schumacher is to get behind the wheel of an older Ferrari F2007 single-seater for the second time in less than a fortnight at Mugello, testing tomorrow and Wednesday, as he continues with his preparations for his F1 comeback

As Michael Schumacher continues with his intensive physical training preparations for his F1 comeback in just two weeks time in Valencia the former seven times world champion undertook two days of karting at Lonato in Italy last week

Felipe Massa has been cleared by doctors in São Paulo, Brazil, to continue his convalescence at home just a week and a half after his dramatic accident at the Hungaroring, following an examination at the Albert Einstein hospital

Michael Schumacher has revealed that he is now locked into intensive preparations to raise his fitness for his comeback and has already lost three kilogram's as he races against the clock to be ready for the Valencia Grand Prix in 18 days time

Frank Williams has indicated that he will oppose Ferrari's request made to all the teams to allow Michel Schumacher a day of testing at the wheel of the F60 prior to the former seven times champion making his dramatic F1 comeback on August 23