Minardi

History

The team, near collapse, was purchased by Australian businessman Paul Stoddart in early 2001. Since then the Minardi team has been almost as famous for its politics as its racing. Stoddart has been described as the Formula One teams' unofficial shop steward. Since taking over as team principal, Stoddart has been campaigning for reduced costs in the sport. He has appealed to the competing car manufacturers for an agreement where the independent (and, on the whole, financially weaker) teams in Formula One would get cheaper engine deals than at present. In return, the team principals who would benefit from this would support the works teams when it came to opposing new rule changes enforced by the FIA, such as the proposed ban on traction control. So far, Stoddart's efforts have failed to produce such a deal.

Related Topics:
Australia - Paul Stoddart - 2001 - FIA

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Before the start of the 2004 season, he threatened to withdraw his support against the ban on traction control, but later withdrew this threat. Before the 2005 Australian Grand Prix Stoddart initially threatened to withdraw his cars if they were made to comply with the revised regulations for 2005. Stoddart claimed that Minardi could not afford to adapt their cars. Once again Stoddart ended up withdrawing his threat. Stoddart has also repeatedly called for the resignation of the FIA's President, Max Mosley, particularly in the aftermath of the 2005 United States Grand Prix.

Related Topics:
2005 - Australian Grand Prix - Max Mosley - 2005 United States Grand Prix

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One of Minardi's most famous performances in recent years came at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. It was Australian driver Mark Webber's first Formula One race. At his and Stoddart's home grand prix he brought the car home in fifth place to score two World Championship points ? a rare occurrence for Minardi.

Related Topics:
2002 Australian Grand Prix - Mark Webber

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Minardi was represented in 2004 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 2 years at the United States Grand Prix, finishing 8th (only 8 cars finished the 2004 USGP). Baumgartner was also the first Hungarian to score a point in a World Championship F1 race.

Related Topics:
2004 - Italian - Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni - Hungarian - Zsolt Baumgartner - United States Grand Prix

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In 2005, Minardi's drivers were Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher. They amassed a comparatively astronomical total of 7 points following the debacle of the 2005 United States Grand Prix, in which they finished fifth and sixth (of six runners) respectively. After his sponsors stopped paying him before the 2005 German Grand Prix, Patrick Friesacher was to be replaced by Dutch Jordan test driver Robert Doornbos to create the first ever all-Dutch driver line-up in Formula One history.

Related Topics:
Christijan Albers - Patrick Friesacher - 2005 United States Grand Prix - 2005 German Grand Prix - Robert Doornbos

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Despite their reputation as a backmarking team, more than a handful of future stars have raced for them in recent years. Grand Prix winners Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber, and even current World Champion Fernando Alonso have all raced for the team within the last 10 years.

Related Topics:
Giancarlo Fisichella - Jarno Trulli - Mark Webber - Fernando Alonso

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Red Bull purchase

Paul Stoddart has stated that he would sell Minardi if he could find the right buyer. Stoddart claimed that he had 41 approaches http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4210108.stm. His criteria 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, which already owns another Formula One team, Red Bull Racing, wants to set up a second team to promote American drivers that have risen through its young driver programme, Red Bull Driver Search. In particular, American GP2-series driver Scott Speed, although initially promised the third (test) seat at Red Bull Racing, is widely expected to move into a racing role for this "Red Bull Junior" team for the 2006 season.

Related Topics:
Red Bull - Red Bull Racing - American - Red Bull Driver Search - GP2-series - Scott Speed

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Ending several weeks of speculation on September 10 Red Bull announced it would take control of Minardi in November and run it as their "rookie team" from 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4227936.stm Crucially for the future of Formula One after the current Concorde agreement expires, the purchase of Minardi by Dietrich Mateschitz gives another supporter for maintainence of the current series.

Related Topics:
Formula One - Concorde agreement - Dietrich Mateschitz

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Minardi fans worldwide immediately started an online petition http://www.forzaminardi.com/petition/petition.php to save the Minardi team name and the team's 20-year heritage in F1 after the news broke.

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