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Minardi Team USA.Minardi
Full nameMinardi F1 TeamBase
Faenza,
ItalyFounder/s
Giancarlo MinardiNoted staff
Aldo CostaGabriele RumiPaul StoddartNoted drivers
Pierluigi MartiniFernando AlonsoMark WebberGiancarlo FisichellaJarno TrulliJustin WilsonFormula One World Championship careerEngines
Motori Moderni,
Ford,
Ferrari,
Lamborghini,
Hart,
Fondmetal,
European,
Asiatech,
CosworthDebut
1985 Brazilian Grand PrixRaces competed345
Constructors'Championships0
Drivers'Championships0Race victories0Points38
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0Final race
2005 Chinese Grand PrixMinardi was an
automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by
Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the
Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans. In 2001, to save the team from folding, Minardi sold it to Australian businessman
Paul Stoddart, who ran the team for five years before selling it on to
Red Bull in 2005 who renamed it
Scuderia Toro Rosso.During its time in F1, the team scored a total of 38 championship points (under the modern points system this number would be 126 points). 16 of these (32 under the present system) were earned by the team's first driver,
Pierluigi Martini. Martini also recorded the team's only front row start: 2nd at the
1990 United States Grand Prix and actually led a lap during a heroic performance in the
1989 Portuguese Grand Prix. In spite of this, the team never achieved a podium finish in its history, only managing a best place of 4th three times: Martini twice in 1991 and
Christian Fittipaldi in 1993.Before Minardi's demise, it was a particularly well-liked team within Formula One circles for many reasons. In the paddock, the team was noted for friendliness, accessibility, and lack of corporate culture (universally regarded as having the best
espresso in F1). On the track, their cars were regarded by many as well-designed for their tiny budget (in comparison to front-runners such as Ferrari and McLaren), their lowly position recognised as more of a lack of funds (and engine power) rather than a necessarily poor car.[
citation needed] They also resisted employing
pay-drivers more so than most other financially strapped teams, producing an impressive alumni including Grand Prix winners
Alessandro Nannini,
Giancarlo Fisichella,
Jarno Trulli, twice World Champion
Fernando Alonso and
Champ Car winners
Christian Fittipaldi and
Alex Zanardi.
Champ Car and
IRL race winner
Justin Wilson also raced for them.Contents[
hide]
1 Origins 2 Racing History 2.1 Formula Two (1980–1984) 2.2 Minardi Formula One (1985–1993) 2.3 Minardi, Scuderia Italia and Fondmetal (1994–2000) 2.4 European Minardi (2001–2005) 3 Heads of Minardi F1 4 Red Bull purchase 5 Racing return for Minardi 6 Complete Formula One results 7 See also 8 References 9 External links
