Minardi

Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor. It was founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005. The team was headquartered in Faenza, Italy. They had little success, but acquiring a loyal group of fans. In 2001 the team was nearly out of money, and was about to shut down. To save the team Mr. Minardi sold it to Australian businessman Paul Stoddart. Stoddart ran the team for five years. Then Stoddart sold the team to the energy drink company Red Bull in 2005. Red Bull renamed the team Scuderia Toro Rosso.

During its time in F1, the team scored a total of 38 championship points. 16 earned by the team's first driver, Pierluigi Martini. Martini also recorded the team's only front row start, 2nd at the  United States Grand Prix. Martini led a lap in the  Portuguese Grand Prix. The team never achieved a podium (top 3) finish. The best finishing position they managed was 4th place. Martini finished 4th twice in  and Christian Fittipaldi in .

Before Minardi's demise, it was a well-liked team within Formula One circles. In the paddock, the team was known for it friendliness, accessibility, and lack of corporate culture. On the track, their cars were considered by many as well-designed for their tiny budget. They never had the money to spend compared to front-runners such as Ferrari and McLaren. Their low running position was a result of a lack of funds and engine power, rather than a poor car. They also resisted employing pay drivers more than most other teams short on money. Pay drivers are drivers who pay the team to drive the race car. Most professional race drivers are paid by a team to drive. Minardi produced an impressive list of former drivers. Two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso drove for them in . Former Minardi drivers who have gone on to win Grands Prix include Alessandro Nannini, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli and Mark Webber. Alex Zanardi, who drove as a substitute driver for Minardi in , went on to win two Champ Car titles. Justin Wilson and Christian Fittipaldi have also won races in premier North American open-wheel competition.

 History 
The Minardi family has a longstanding involvement in motorsport. The family has run a Fiat dealership since 1927. Giovanni Minardi competed in his own cars in the late 1940s. After his death, his son Giancarlo took over the racing part of the family business. He ran customer cars in Formula Two under various names from 1972 to 1979. Giancarlo briefly ran a customer Formula One Ferrari as Scuderia Everest in 1976. In 1979, he gaining financial backing Piero Mancini. Mancini was a well known Italian motor racing patron (supporter). This backing allowed Giancarlo to set up the Minardi racing team as a constructor.Constructors: Minardi www.grandprix.com Retrieved 2 August 2006.

 Racing History 
 Formula Two (1980–1984) 
The Minardi team first competed under that name in the 1980 European Formula Two championship. The team commissioned a BMW powered design from Giacomo Caliri's FLY studios. Caliri had earler build Fittipaldi Automotive team's F5A Formula One car. The Minardi team had four moderately successful Formula Two seasons with a variety of young drivers, including Alessandro Nannini and Johnny Cecotto. The team's most best result was a 1981 win at the Misano Circuit by Michele Alboreto. Minardi left the Formula Two division at the end of 1984. In 1986 a modified version of their final Formula Two car was entered in two rounds of the Formula 3000 championship. Formula 3000 had replaced Formula Two in 1985 Minardi did not have any success in Formula 3000.

 Minardi Formula One (1985–1993) 

During 1984, Minardi made the decision to enter Formula One the next year. Caliri designed the team's prototype Formula One car. The car was intended to be used for both Formula One and the new Formula 3000 series. The car was designed to use the Alfa Romeo's V8 turbocharged engine. When engineer Carlo Chiti left Alfa Romeo, he founded Motori Moderni. Minardi became the only customer for Chiti's new V6 engine design. The engine was not ready for the start of the , so the team converted their chassis, the M185. They used a Cosworth DFV V8 engine for the first two races. The single car team was unsuccessful in its first year. They did not score any points. The new engine was underpowered. Driver Pierluigi Martini finished only two races. Martini's best was 8th place.

The team expanded to two cars for the  season. They had little success competing with the Motori Moderni engine. In  they started using the Cosworth engines. The team became more competitive. By  had become top entrant for tyre maker Pirelli's return to Formula One. The team were moderately successful in the middle of the field through the late 1980s and early 1990s. Minardi gave a number of Italian drivers their first chance at the top level, including Alessandro Nannini, Pierluigi Martini and Gianni Morbidelli. Martini is especially tied with Minardi, driving for them three different times. He drove for them on their debut in . Scored their first point in the  United States Grand Prix. Took their only front-row start at  USA Grand Prix, aided by special Pirelli tyres. Led their only lap in the  Portuguese Grand Prix. Martini was one of the drivers that scored Minardi F1 result of 4th place.

 Minardi, Scuderia Italia and Fondmetal (1994–2000) 

Through the mid-1990s the team was at the beginning of the end of the Italian Formula One constructors. It was the first team in modern times to make use of customer engines. They used Ferrari engines in . In they switched to Lamborghini V12 engines. In  they went to Ford engines. As the number of small teams shrank, Minardi slipped from the mid-field towards the back of the pack. The team was short on money. In  Minardi joined his team with BMS Scuderia Italia in an effort to survive. The Minardi team was then controlled by Flavio Briatore.

Gabriele Rumi was an Italian businessman and the former owner of the Fondmetal Formula One team. Rumi had been sponsoring Tyrrell. In  Rumi switched his sponsorship support to Minardi. He became more interested in the team, and became the co-owner and chairman. For the  season the team were forced to use 1998 specification Ford Zetec-R V10 engines, which were renamed as Fondmetal engines. Rumi had contracted cancer, and was forced to withdraw his backing in 2000. The team scored very few points in this era. Only seven points were scored, four of them by Martini. Michele Alboreto scored his last point in Formula One with a sixth place in the  Monaco Grand Prix. Pedro Lamy scored his one and only point in Formula One with a sixth place in the  Australian Grand Prix.

 European Minardi (2001–2005) 

The team, near financial collapse, was purchased by Australian businessman Paul Stoddart in early 2001. Stoddaart merged the team with his European Racing Formula 3000 team. During its final years, the Minardi team was almost as famous for its politics as its racing. Stoddart was described as the Formula One teams' unofficial representative. Stoddart tried to get the costs for the teams reduced. He asked to the other car manufacturers for help. He wanted an agreement where the independent teams in Formula One would get cheaper engine deals. In return, the teams that benefited from this deal would support the factory teams with the FIA. This would help the factory teams oppose new rule changes, such as the proposed ban on traction control.

Before the start of the  season, Stoddart threatened to support the ban on traction control. Later he withdrew this threat. Before the  Australian Grand Prix Stoddart threatened to withdraw his cars. There were new regulation in place for 2005. He claimed that Minardi could not afford to modify their cars. Once again Stoddart ended up withdrawing his threat. Several times, Stoddart called for the resignation of Max Mosley, the FIA's President.

One of Minardi's most famous performances came at the  Australian Grand Prix. It was Australian driver Mark Webber's first Formula One race. At his and Stoddart's home grand prix, Webber brought the car home in fifth place finish. He scored two World Championship points, a rare occurrence for Minardi.


Minardi was represented in  by two rookies, Italian Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni and Hungarian Zsolt Baumgartner. During the year, they celebrated their 20th season in F1. Baumgartner scored Minardi's first point in more than two years at the United States Grand Prix. Only eight cars finished the USGP, and Baumgartner finished 8th. Baumgartner was also the first Hungarian to score a point in a World Championship F1 race.


In , Minardi's drivers were Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher. They scored a total of 7 points, the most since the  season. All of the points came from the debacle of the United States Grand Prix. They finished fifth and sixth. Only six cars started the race. None of the cars running Michelins started the race because of tyre problems. After Friesacher sponsors stopped paying him before the German Grand Prix, he was replaced by the Jordan test driver, Robert Doornbos. This created the first ever all-Dutch driver line-up in Formula One history.

 Heads of Minardi F1 

 Owners
 1985–2000 Giancarlo Minardi
 1996 Flavio Briatore – co-owner
 1996–2000 Gabriele Rumi – co-owner
 2001–2005 Paul Stoddart

 Red Bull purchase 

Paul Stoddart stated that he would sell Minardi if he could find the right buyer. Stoddart said he had 41 offers to buy the team. His conditions for a sale was the ability of a buyer to move the team forward and leave the team based in Faenza. The drinks manufacturer Red Bull already owned one Formula One team, Red Bull Racing. They decided to set up a second team. They would promote American drivers through its young driver program, the Red Bull Driver Search.

On 10 September 2005 Red Bull announced it would take control of Minardi in November and run it as their "rookie team" from .

Minardi fans worldwide immediately started an online petition to save the Minardi team name and the team's 20-year heritage. The petition was not successful and the team was renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2006 season. The team's funding from Red Bull was increased. They started using the Red Bull chassis and Ferrari engines. Their results improved, and Toro Rosso scored their first win at the  Italian Grand Prix.

 Racing return for Minardi 

Giancarlo Minardi and Paul Stoddart have both made use of the Minardi name in new motorsport ventures.

 Giancarlo Minardi 
On 1 January 2006, Giancarlo Minardi re-acquired some rights to use the Minardi name in racing. He announced that he was licensing the Minardi name to an existing team GP Racing in the junior Euro Formula 3000 series, to be entitled 'Minardi Team by GP Racing'. The team raced with moderate success, scoring a podium in each leg of the Spa round in June 2006. For 2007, Minardi Team by GP Racing combined forces with GP2 team Piquet Sports, to form Minardi Piquet Sports. For 2008 the team is known simply as Piquet Sports.

 Paul Stoddart 
In 2006, Paul Stoddart declared his intention to enter a new team called 'European Minardi F1 Team Ltd' into Formula One beginning in 2008. His application was unsuccessful, with the 12th place on the grid being awarded to Prodrive. Prodrive was unsuccessful in launching their F1 team. Stoddart turned his attentions to the U.S. based Champ Car series. On 18 December 2006, it was confirmed that he had purchased a controlling interest in the CTE Racing-HVM Champ Car team. The team would be renamed Minardi Team USA. In 2007, the team had some success. Robert Doornbos won two times and had several podium finishes. He finished third in the series, and won Rookie of the Year honors. The Champ Car series folded before the 2008 season. Stoddart's team entering the IndyCar Series under the HVM name.

Stoddart retains the right to use the Minardi name for a British-registered company.

 Complete Formula One results 
(key)
 Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Points WCC 1985 M185 Ford DFV  3.0 L V8   BRA POR SMR MON CAN DET FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA BEL EUR RSA AUS 0 NC  Pierluigi Martini Ret Ret Motori Moderni  1.5 L V6 T Ret DNQ Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret 8 0 NC 1986 M185B, M186 Motori Moderni  1.5 L V6 T   BRA ESP SMR MON BEL CAN DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA POR MEX AUS 0 NC  Andrea de Cesaris Ret Ret Ret DNQ Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret  Alessandro Nannini Ret Ret Ret DNQ Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret NC 14 Ret 1987 M186B, M187 Motori Moderni  1.5 L V6 T   BRA SMR BEL MON DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA POR ESP MEX JPN AUS 0 NC  Adrián Campos DSQ Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret  Alessandro Nannini Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 16 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret 1988 M188 Ford DFZ  3.5 L V8   BRA SMR MON MEX CAN DET FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS 1 10th  Adrián Campos Ret 16 DNQ DNQ DNQ  Pierluigi Martini  6 15 15 DNQ Ret DNQ Ret Ret Ret 13 7  Luis Perez-Sala Ret 11 Ret 11 13 Ret NC Ret DNQ 10 DNQ Ret 8 12 15 Ret 1989 M188B, M189 Ford DFR  3.5 L V8   BRA SMR MON MEX USA CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS 6 11th  Pierluigi Martini Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 9 Ret 9 7 5 Ret 6   Paolo Barilla Ret  Luis Perez-Sala Ret Ret Ret DNQ Ret Ret DNQ 6 DNQ Ret 15 8 12 Ret Ret DNQ 1990 M189B, M190 Ford DFR  3.5 L V8   USA BRA SMR MON CAN MEX FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS 0 NC  Pierluigi Martini 7 9 DNS Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret 15 Ret 11 Ret 8 9  Paolo Barilla Ret Ret 11 Ret DNQ 14 DNQ 12 Ret 15 Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ  Gianni Morbidelli Ret Ret 1991 M191 Ferrari 037  3.5 L V12   USA BRA SMR MON CAN MEX FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS 6 7th  Pierluigi Martini 9 Ret 4 12 7 Ret 9 9 Ret Ret 12 Ret 4 13 Ret Ret  Gianni Morbidelli Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret 11 Ret 13 Ret 9 9 14 Ret  Roberto Moreno 16 1992 M191B, M191L, M192 Lamborghini 3512  3.5 L V12  RSA MEX BRA ESP SMR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN AUS 1 12th  Christian Fittipaldi Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 8 13 DNQ DNQ DNQ 12 6 9  Alessandro Zanardi DNQ Ret DNQ  Gianni Morbidelli Ret Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 11 8 17 12 DNQ 16 Ret 14 14 10 1993 M193 Ford HBC6  3.5 L V8   RSA BRA EUR SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN AUS 7 8th  Christian Fittipaldi 4 Ret 7 Ret 8 5 9 8 12 11 Ret Ret 8 9  Jean-Marc Gounon Ret Ret  Fabrizio Barbazza Ret Ret 6 6 Ret 11 Ret Ret  Pierluigi Martini Ret 14 Ret Ret 7 8 10 Ret 1994 M193B, M194 Ford HBC7/8  3.5 L V8   BRA PAC SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR EUR JPN AUS 5 10th  Pierluigi Martini 8 Ret Ret Ret 5 9 5 10 Ret Ret 8 Ret 12 15 Ret 9  Michele Alboreto Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret 7 9 Ret 13 14 Ret Ret 1995 M195 Ford EDM  3.0 L V8   BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR EUR PAC JPN AUS 1 10th  Pierluigi Martini Ret Ret 12 14 7 Ret Ret 7 Ret  Pedro Lamy 9 10 Ret Ret 9 13 11 6  Luca Badoer Ret DNS 14 Ret Ret 8 13 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 14 11 15 9 Ret 1996 M195B Ford EDM2, Ford EDM3  3.0 L V8   AUS BRA ARG EUR SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN 0 NC  Pedro Lamy Ret 10 Ret 12 9 Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret 12 Ret 10 Ret 16 12  Giancarlo Fisichella Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 11  Tarso Marques Ret Ret  Giovanni Lavaggi Ret 10 DNQ Ret 15 DNQ 1997 M197 Hart 830 AV7  3.0 L V8  AUS BRA ARG SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA AUT LUX JPN EUR 0 NC  Jarno Trulli 9 12 9 DNS Ret 15 Ret  Tarso Marques Ret 10 Ret 12 Ret 14 EX Ret Ret 15  Ukyo Katayama Ret 18 Ret 11 10 Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 10 14 Ret 11 Ret Ret 17 1998 M198 Ford JD Zetec-R  3.0 L V10  AUS BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA LUX JPN 0 NC  Shinji Nakano Ret Ret 13 Ret 14 9 7 17 8 11 Ret 15 8 Ret 15 Ret  Esteban Tuero Ret Ret Ret 8 15 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 1999 M01 Ford VJM1 Zetec-R, Ford VJM2 Zetec-R  3.0 L V10  AUS BRA SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA EUR MAL JPN 1 10th  Luca Badoer Ret 8 Ret Ret 10 10 Ret 13 10 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret  Stéphane Sarrazin Ret  Marc Gené Ret 9 9 Ret Ret 8 Ret 15 11 9 17 16 Ret 6 9 Ret 2000 M02 Fondmetal  3.0 L V10  AUS BRA SMR GBR ESP EUR MON CAN FRA AUT GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN MAL 0 10th  Marc Gené 8 Ret Ret 14 14 Ret Ret 16 15 8 Ret 15 14 9 12 Ret Ret  Gastón Mazzacane Ret 10 13 15 15 8 Ret 12 Ret 12 11 Ret 17 10 Ret 15 13 2001 PS01, PS01B European  3.0 L V10  AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN 0 11th  Tarso Marques Ret 14 9 Ret 16 Ret Ret 9 Ret 15 DNQ Ret Ret Ret  Alex Yoong Ret Ret 16  Fernando Alonso 12 13 Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 14 17 16 10 Ret Ret 13 Ret 11 2002 PS02 Asiatech AT02  3.0 L V10   AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR GBR FRA GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN 2 9th  Alex Yoong 7 Ret 13 DNQ DNS Ret Ret 14 Ret DNQ 10 DNQ 13 Ret Ret  Anthony Davidson Ret Ret  Mark Webber 5 Ret 11 11 DNS 12 11 11 15 Ret 8 Ret 16 Ret Ret Ret 10 2003 PS03 Cosworth CR-3  3.0 L V10   AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR FRA GBR GER HUN ITA USA JPN 0 10th  Justin Wilson Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 13 Ret Ret 13 14 16  Nicolas Kiesa 12 13 12 11 16  Jos Verstappen 11 13 Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret 9 14 16 15 Ret 12 Ret 10 15 2004 PS04B Cosworth CR-3L  3.0 L V10   AUS  MAL  BHR  SMR  ESP  MON  EUR  CAN  USA  FRA  GBR  GER  HUN  BEL  ITA  CHN  JPN  BRA  1 10th  Gianmaria Bruni Ret 14 17 Ret Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret 18 16 17 14 Ret Ret Ret 16 17  Zsolt Baumgartner Ret 16 Ret 15 Ret 9 15 10 8 Ret Ret 16 15 Ret 15 16 Ret 16 2005 PS04B, PS05 Cosworth CK2004, Cosworth TJ2005  3.0 L V10 AUSMALBHRSMRESPMONEURCANUSAFRAGBRGERHUNTURITABELBRAJPNCHN 7 10th  Christijan Albers Ret 13 13 Ret Ret 14 17 11 5 Ret 18 13 NC Ret 19 12 14 16 16  Patrick Friesacher  17 Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 18 Ret 6 Ret 19  Robert Doornbos 18 Ret 13 18 13 Ret 14 14

 References 

 Further reading 

 Other websites 

Minardi's new official website 
Chequered Flag Motorsports's article on Minardi's F1 history 
Formula Two championship results

Category:Formula One constructors