Luca Badoer knows he cannot afford another lackluster performance in this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix following a disastrous return to Formula 1 in Valencia.
The Italian qualified last, picked up four speeding offenses, lost a place in the pitlane, got a drive-through penalty and then crashed his car at low-speed post race in parc ferme during an eventful European Grand Prix weekend. He is well aware that he must now deliver on track if he is not to find himself replaced for the next race on the calendar in Italy.
"I have to be quick," said Badoer in Spa. "I have to be reasonably quick, as much as I can be."
Having treated his first outing in Valencia as a test session, Badoer says that the approach to this weekend's event is very different.
"This is a race now, yes," he admitted. "The most important thing that now I have much more feeling with the car. Before, I never drove it properly, only for some kilometers. And I was 10 months without driving F1. It was a new track and a very difficult situation.
"Now I have a better feeling with the car, I know which kind of set-up I prefer and I can adapt my driving style. And I am at a track that I have driven on already -- without the walls being very close. So for sure the baseline is much different."