Minardi facts for kids
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| Full name | Minardi F1 Team |
|---|---|
| Base |  Faenza, Italy |
| Founder(s) | Giancarlo Minardi |
| Noted staff | Gustav Brunner, Paul Stoddart |
| Noted drivers | Pierluigi Martini Marc Gené Luca Badoer Christian Fittipaldi Michele Alboreto Mark Webber Jos Verstappen Fernando Alonso Justin Wilson Giancarlo Fisichella Jarno Trulli |
| Next name | Scuderia Toro Rosso |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 346 entries (340 starts) |
| Engines | Motori Moderni, Ford, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Hart, Fondmetal, European, Asiatech, Cosworth |
| Constructors' Championships |
0 (best finish: 7th, 1991) |
| Drivers' Championships |
0 |
| Race victories | 0 (best finish: 4th, 1991 San Marino Grand Prix, 1991 Portuguese Grand Prix and 1993 South African Grand Prix) |
| Points | 38 |
| Pole positions | 0 (best grid position: 2nd, 1990 United States Grand Prix) |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Final entry | 2005 Chinese Grand Prix |
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team. It was started in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. The team raced in Formula One from 1985 to 2005. They didn't win many races, but they had many loyal fans!
In 2001, Paul Stoddart, an Australian businessman, bought the team to save it. He ran the team for five years. In 2005, he sold it to Red Bull GmbH. Red Bull then changed the team's name to Scuderia Toro Rosso. Minardi's cars were first called "M" (for Minardi). From 2001, their cars were called "PS" cars, after Paul Stoddart's initials.
During its time in F1, the team earned a total of 38 championship points. Sixteen of these points were scored by their first driver, Pierluigi Martini. Martini also achieved the team's best starting position, qualifying 2nd at the 1990 United States Grand Prix. He even led one lap during the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix. This was the only time a Minardi car led a lap in a race. The team never finished on the podium (top three). Their best result was 4th place, which happened three times. Martini achieved this twice in 1991, and Christian Fittipaldi once in 1993.
Minardi had 37 different drivers over 21 seasons. Thirteen of them were Italian. The others came from 13 different countries. Pierluigi Martini holds the record for the most races with the team, with 103 starts.
Many people in Formula One liked the Minardi team. They were known for being friendly and easy to approach. Their cars were considered well-designed, especially given their small budget. Their low position in races was usually due to a lack of money and engine power, not bad car design. Minardi also tried to avoid using "pay-drivers." These are drivers who pay the team to get a spot, which is common for teams with money problems.
Many famous drivers raced for Minardi. These include two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso. Other Grand Prix winners like Alessandro Nannini, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, and Mark Webber also started their F1 careers there.
Contents
Team Beginnings
The Minardi family has a long history in car racing. Giancarlo Minardi's grandfather owned a car dealership since 1927. His father, Giovanni Minardi, raced his own cars in the late 1940s. The first Minardi car was the GM75, built by Giovanni Minardi.
After his father passed away, Giancarlo Minardi took over the family's racing business. In the early 1970s, he led the Scuderia del Passatore team. He decided to race in Formula Italia instead of Formula 3. In 1972, his team finished second with Giancarlo Martini. They won the championship the next year.
In 1975, the team changed its name to "Scuderia Everest" because of sponsors. Famous drivers like Elio De Angelis and Clay Regazzoni raced for the team. From 1975 to 1979, they used March cars and BMW engines in Formula Two.
In 1976, the team briefly raced a Formula One Ferrari 312T car. This car was driven by Giancarlo Martini, who was Pierluigi Martini's uncle. In 1979, Minardi got money from Piero Mancini, a well-known Italian racing supporter. This helped Minardi set up its own racing team as a Formula Two car builder.
Racing in Formula Two (1980–1984)
The Minardi team first raced under its own name in the 1980 European Formula Two championship. Instead of buying cars from other companies, Minardi built their own. They hired Giacomo Caliri to design a BMW-powered car. The first Minardi driver was Miguel Ángel Guerra. He finished 9th in the standings.
In 1981, Michele Alboreto won a race at the Misano track for Minardi. This was one of the team's best results in Formula Two. The team used a Ferrari engine in 1981, but switched to a BMW engine in 1982. Famous drivers like Alessandro Nannini and Pierluigi Martini also raced for Minardi in Formula Two.
Minardi left Formula Two at the end of 1984.
Minardi in Formula One (1985–1993)
In 1984, Minardi decided to join Formula One the next year. They planned to use an Alfa Romeo engine. But the engine wasn't ready for the start of the 1985 season. So, the team used a Cosworth DFV engine for the first two races. The team only had one car and didn't score any points in its first year. The new engine was not powerful enough.
For the 1986 season, Minardi expanded to two cars. In 1988, they switched to Cosworth engines. In 1989, they became the main team for Pirelli tires, which were returning to Formula One. The team did reasonably well in the middle of the pack in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They gave many Italian drivers their first chance in F1. These included Alessandro Nannini, Pierluigi Martini, and Gianni Morbidelli.
Martini was especially connected with Minardi. He raced for them three times. He scored their first point in the 1988 United States Grand Prix. He also achieved their only front-row start at the 1990 USA Grand Prix. He led a lap in the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, where he finished 5th.
In 1991, Minardi was the first team in modern times to use engines from Ferrari. In 1992, they used Lamborghini V12 engines. In 1993, Minardi had a good season, scoring seven points. This was thanks to Christian Fittipaldi finishing fourth and fifth, and Fabrizio Barbazza finishing sixth twice.
Changes and Challenges (1994–2000)
As fewer small teams remained, Minardi struggled more and more. They faced money problems. In 1994, Minardi joined with another team, BMS Scuderia Italia, to survive. Giancarlo Minardi kept a small share of the team.
In 1994, Martini finished 5th twice. Michele Alboreto scored his last point in Formula 1 with a 6th place finish. Bernie Ecclestone, a very important person in F1, saw the team was struggling. He spoke to Flavio Briatore, who agreed to buy a share in the team in 1995.
In 1996, Italian businessman Gabriele Rumi, who owned the Fondmetal team, started sponsoring Minardi. He slowly bought more of the team, becoming a co-owner. In 1997, Minardi partnered with engine maker Brian Hart. For the 2000 season, the team had to use older Ford engines. These were rebranded as Fondmetal engines because of Rumi's financial help. However, Rumi's poor health forced him to stop his support at the end of the season.
Points were hard to come by during this time. Pedro Lamy scored his only F1 point with a 6th place in the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. After that, the team had a long time without scoring points. Then, Marc Gené finished 6th in the 1999 European Grand Prix. In that same race, Luca Badoer was running fourth but his gearbox broke. He was very sad and cried next to his car.
Minardi was known for not using pay-drivers. But for the 2000 season, the team signed Gastón Mazzacane. He got the spot because of money from a TV channel.
European Minardi (2001–2005)
The team was almost collapsing when Australian businessman Paul Stoddart bought it in early 2001. He combined it with his European Racing team. That season, Fernando Alonso made his F1 debut for Minardi at age 19. He didn't score points, but his driving was so good that the Renault F1 team signed him for 2002.
Alonso was replaced by Mark Webber, who also became a future race winner. In his first race in Melbourne in 2002, he finished 5th and scored points. His teammate, Alex Yoong, finished 7th, just outside the points. The team used Asiatech engines that year. Minardi finished ahead of the new Toyota factory team, which had a much bigger budget. They also finished ahead of the Arrows team, which went bankrupt.
From 2003 until their last season in 2005, Minardi used Ford Cosworth engines. These engines helped Minardi score some points now and then, even if they weren't always reliable.
A memorable moment happened during the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix. The race was stopped because of bad weather and many crashes. Jos Verstappen, Minardi's lead driver, spun off the track. Paul Stoddart later said that Verstappen had enough fuel to finish the race. If he hadn't spun, he might have won!
In its final years, the Minardi team was known for its strong opinions in F1. Paul Stoddart often spoke up for the smaller, independent teams. He wanted car manufacturers to offer cheaper engines to these teams. In return, the smaller teams would support the big factory teams against new rules from the FIA.
Before the 2004 season, Stoddart threatened to stop supporting a ban on traction control, but he changed his mind. In 2004, other teams wanted to change the qualifying system. Stoddart voted against it because it would bring back an old rule that could hurt smaller teams. A unanimous vote was needed, so the change didn't happen.
Before the 2005 Australian Grand Prix, Stoddart again threatened to pull his cars out. He said Minardi couldn't afford to follow the new rules. He later backed down. Stoddart also called for the head of the FIA, Max Mosley, to resign. This happened after the 2005 United States Grand Prix. Most teams pulled out of that race due to safety concerns about their tires. Minardi used different tires, and Stoddart offered a compromise, but Mosley refused.
In 2004, Minardi had two new drivers: Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni from Italy and Zsolt Baumgartner from Hungary. That year, they celebrated their 20th season in F1. Baumgartner scored Minardi's first point in over two years at the United States Grand Prix, finishing 8th. He was also the first Hungarian to score a point in an F1 race.
In 2005, Minardi's drivers were Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher. They scored seven points together at the 2005 United States Grand Prix, finishing fifth and sixth. After losing his sponsors, Friesacher was replaced by Robert Doornbos. This created the first all-Dutch driver lineup in Formula One since 1962.
Red Bull Buys Minardi
In 2005, Paul Stoddart said he would sell Minardi if he found the right buyer. He wanted someone who would help the team grow and keep it based in Faenza. The energy drink company Red Bull GmbH decided to buy Minardi. Red Bull already owned another F1 team, Red Bull Racing. They wanted a second team to train young drivers from their program.
On September 10, 2005, Red Bull announced they would take over Minardi in November. They planned to run it as their "rookie team" starting in 2006.
Minardi fans around the world started an online petition to save the Minardi name. They wanted to keep the team's 20-year history in F1. But the petition was not successful. The team was renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2006 season. With more money from Red Bull, the team's results improved. Sebastian Vettel even won a race and got a pole position for Toro Rosso at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
The team was renamed again in 2020 to Scuderia AlphaTauri to promote Red Bull's clothing brand. AlphaTauri also won a race at Monza in 2020 with Pierre Gasly. In 2024, the team was renamed again to Visa Cash App RB.
Minardi Returns to Racing
Both Giancarlo Minardi and Paul Stoddart have used the Minardi name in new racing projects.
On January 1, 2006, Giancarlo Minardi got back some rights to use the Minardi name in racing. He allowed an existing team, GP Racing, to use the name in the Euro Formula 3000 series. The team was called 'Minardi Team by GP Racing'. They had some success, getting on the podium in June 2006. In 2007, this team joined with GP2 team Piquet Sports to form Minardi Piquet Sports. By 2008, it was just known as Piquet Sports.
In 2006, Paul Stoddart said he wanted to enter a new team called 'European Minardi F1 Team Ltd' into Formula One in 2008. His application was not accepted. Instead, Stoddart focused on the U.S.-based Champ Car series. In December 2006, he bought a part of the CTE Racing-HVM Champ Car team. The team was renamed Minardi Team USA. In 2007, the team did well. Robert Doornbos won two races and finished third in the series. He also won Rookie of the Year. When the Champ Car series ended, Stoddart's involvement stopped. The team then joined the IndyCar Series as HVM.
Stoddart still has the right to use the Minardi name for a company registered in Britain.
Leaders of Minardi F1
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- Owners
- 1985–1995 Giancarlo Minardi
- 1996–1997 Giancarlo Minardi and Flavio Briatore
- 1997–2000 Giancarlo Minardi and Gabriele Rumi
- 2001–2005 Paul Stoddart
- Technical Directors
- 1985–1988 Giacomo Caliri
- 1989–1995 Aldo Costa
- 1996–1998 Gabriele Tredozi
- 1999–2000 Gustav Brunner
- 2001–2005 Gabriele Tredozi
- Sporting Director
- 1998–2000 Cesare Fiorio
- 2001–2004 John Walton
- Commercial / Marketing Directors
- 1998–2000 Massimo Rivola
- 2001–2002 Rupert Manwaring
- 2003–2005 Paul Jordan
Images for kids
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Minardi M02
Gastón Mazzacane with the Minardi M02
See also
In Spanish: Minardi F1 Team para niños
