Badoer returned to Formula One racing in , again with the Minardi team. At Melbourne, Badoer raced as high as fifth at some point until gearbox problems forced him to retire with 15 laps to go. Prior to Brazil, he suffered a testing accident which left him with a broken hand. Stéphane Sarrazin took his seat for the race. He returned for Imola with his hand still causing problems but managed to finish eighth. He suffered from gearbox problems and a spin in Monaco and Spain. In July, Ferrari's number one driver Michael Schumacher broke his leg in an accident at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. As Ferrari's test driver, Badoer expected to be promoted to the race seat in Schumacher's absence, but the team opted for Mika Salo instead, prompting criticism from former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, who had himself turned the position down. His best chance to score points came at the chaotic 1999 European Grand Prix, only for gearbox failure to take him out 13 laps from the end when he was running in fourth position; teammate Marc Gené was promoted to sixth as a result (he would finish there to score the point widely believed to be the deciding factor in the 1999 Drivers' Championship, holding off Ferrari's Eddie Irvine after McLaren's Mika Häkkinen had passed him following a car failure that took Jacques Villeneuve out from fifth position). Badoer was so upset he broke down in tears after climbing out of the car.