Luca Badoer has become the laughing stock of Formula 1, through no fault of his own. Languishing at the bottom of the timesheets having replaced the injured Felipe Massa, what more were we to expect from a driver who has been out of racing for a decade?

The fault is with Ferrari and their haphazard decision making that put him into the seat.

It began with the awkward and confusing developments that saw the great Michael Schumacher returning and then reneging on his comeback.

It was handled poorly, promising Formula 1 and its fans so much but letting them down. In the rush to announce his return, they failed to make the basic checks that he was fit, ready and committed for his comeback.

But to then turn around and give the seat to Badoer, a driver who hasn’t raced in the sport for over a decade, without an impressive record when he did race, makes little sense.

Although out of championship contention, Ferrari has returned to competitiveness, as witnessed by its recent run of podiums.

Did they honestly expect Badoer to match Kimi Raikkonen? Surely, after years of having the Italian test alongside their regular drivers, they knew his capabilities.

Ferrari is paying the price for ignoring junior driver development.

Where other teams have thrived at spotting and nurturing emerging talent (see Lewis Hamilton at McLaren), Ferrari has relied on its reputation to attract the best.

When you look through the history pages, despite their enormous contribution to the sport, rarely have they gone out on a limb on driver choice.

The likes of Schumacher, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell were signed to the team as established names while they persisted for years with the likes of Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi as it was the conservative approach.

Of the drivers available when it became known Schumacher would not be returning, surely the likes of Sebastien Bourdais, Nelson Piquet etc would have been a better fit to assist the team climb the constructors tally.

With the limits in testing during the season, why choose Badoer? Was it a thank you for his years of servitude? Was it arrogance that they could not be seen hiring drivers who were deemed not good enough for other teams?

Something is rotten at Maranello.

With all this playing out, they’ve gone very quiet on keeping us informed on the rehabilitation of Felipe Massa and there remains great mystery as to whether Fernando Alonso is heading there in 2010 or 2011, let alone how Kimi Raikkonen will be done away with to make room for the Spaniard.

There is also the bizarre and persistent claim that they are trying to put Schumacher in a third car next season, a regulation change they are trying to push through to make it happen.

Ferrari could well be returning to the pre Jean Todt, Ross Brawn days of mismanagement and chaos that left them in the wilderness for decades, despite the promise of a dream team of Alonso, Schumacher and Massa.

As witnessed by their baron early nineties run, not even greats like Prost and Mansell could save them from mismanagement.

In the meantime, Badoer continues to struggle and is unlikely to see out the season.

Surely Ferrari won’t face the embarrassment of having one of its cars languishing at the back of the pack at its home Grand Prix at Monza.

Already speculation is flying as to who will get the seat for Monza with a variety of names in the mix, notably Giancarlo Fisichella who put his hand up for contention with his phenomenal pole position for tonight’s Belgian Grand Prix.

At Monza, where Alonso could be announced as a Ferrari driver for next season, Ferrari is also expected to announce a young driver programme for the following years.

If only they had such a programme in place when needed.

Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.