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PROFILE
The
small Italian team made their debut 15 years ago, and
have not won a single race since. Their first points
finish came in 1988, with Pier Luigi Martini taking
6th place in Detroit. In 1989, a Minardi actually led
a race, albeit for one lap. In 1990, running with Pirelli
tyres, the team managed their first front row start
- 2nd with Martini just behind Berger's McLaren.
Ferrari engines gave the team seventh place, it's best
ever constructors' position in 1991. The deal proved
to be too expensive, however, and the team switched
to Lamborghini for 92. This brief partnership was unsuccessful,
and in the subsequent year, they returned to the familiar
Ford V8 customer engines. The car was slow, but reliable,
and they scored seven points in 1993 - more than ever
before.
In 1997, despite investment by some big F1 names, their
best position all year was ninth in Australia. 1999
was an improvement for the team, with the arrival of
Marc Gene. With him came Spanish telecom giants Telefonica.
The M01 driven by Marc Gene scored a total of one point
all season, giving the team 10th place in the constructors'
championship, beating newcomers BAR.
In 2000, the team returned to it's 0 points routine,
with further let-down as the buy-out of the team by
Telefonica fell through. This has left the team with
a big question mark over it for next year, despite recent
rumours that Red Bull is considering buying the team.
To survive, they will need to attract some major investment
before the start of the 2006 season, or it is quite
possible that they will dissapear from the sport completely.
WEB
SITE
http://www.minardi.it
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