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Minardi Team History
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Based on the experience accumulated in motor racing with
the Scuderia del Passatore in 1972, and Scuderia Everest in
1974, Gian Carlo Minardi felt capable of constructing his
own cars and in 1979 he founded the Minardi Team in
association with Piero Mancini and Giacomo Caliri. 

The first Minardi F.2 cars, equipped with BMW engines, got
good results such as Alboreto's win at Misano. 

In 1985 Minardi entered the Formula 1 World Championship
with the first Minardi car driven by Pierluigi Martini and
powered by a Motori Moderni V6 turbo engine . 

In 1986a big jump was foreseen and the signing of qualified
drivers such as Andrea de Cesaris and Alessandro Nannini
and testified that. Unfortunately the sophisticated
technology of the turbo engines and reliability problems
didn't allow the achievement of significant results. 

The 1987 signals the end of the turbo engine age and the
two drivers Nannini and Campos must be content with the
10th place in the German Grand Prix of the likeable
Alessandro as best result of the season. 

In 1988 the Minardi Team participates in the F.1
Championship with atmospheric Ford Cosworth engines, and
the Spanish couplee Sala and Campos as drivers.

After the Grand Prix of Canada, Campos retired and was
substituted by Pierluigi Martini who scored Minardi's first
World Championship point in Detroit and finished 8th in
Portugal and 7th in Australia. 

In 1989, the technical management was entrusted to a pool
of young engineers coordinated by Aldo Costa. Pirelli,
returning to F.1, chose Minardi as its top team in the
same year.

Also thanks to Pirelli's tyres Martini and Sala finish 5th
and 6th the Grand Prix of Silverstone; in Spain Martini is
3rd on the grid, in Portugal he's 3rd on the grid finishing
5th and in Adelaide he scores another point. 

In 1990 ,the Team confirms the technical staff, at the
wheel Paolo Barilla takes Luis Sala's place. The beginning
of the Championship is greatly positive with Martini
qualifying second for the United States G.P. where he was
classified seventh. 

Unfortunately, the accident happened to the driver on
occasion of San Marino G.P. and the obsolite V8 engine
assembled coupled with the car precluded Minardi of gaining
points during the Championship. 

In 1991 Minardi adopted the V12 Ferrari engine. The staff
strugged to overcame this great technical difficulty and
the season finished looking up with the 7th place in the
World Constructor Championship, after the 4th places in
Imola and Estoril. 

Again a new engine in 1992: Lamborghini from the Ferrari
V12 engine to the Lamborghini V12. Two young drivers were
appointed: Gianni Morbidelli and Christian Fittipaldi.
After a forced pause, consequence of a bad accident in
France, Fittipaldi scores one point in the Japanese Grand
Prix at Suzuka, showing that the team has reached reliable
and competitive levels. 

The new 1993 car has hydraulic reactive suspensions,
sequential gearbox mounting the Ford HB engine.
The drivers are Christian Fittipaldi and Fabrizio Barbazza,
whose place will be taken by Pierluigi Martini in the
second half of the season.. 

Even though the engines were not updated to the
specifications used by other teams, the Minardi Team has
obtained a prestigious eighth place in the Championship
thanks to the seven points scored by Fittipaldi 4th in
South Africa and 5th in Montecarlo and Fabrizio Barbazza
6th in Donington and Imola.

Considering the relation quality/price Minardi is one of
the best Team of the Championship. . 

A new shape for the Minardi Team further to the merging
with the Scuderia Italia. Gian Carlo Minardi and Giuseppe
Lucchini longed for the creation of a new capital stock
whose shareholders will be Gian Carlo Minardi, Giuseppe
Lucchini and other well known in motor racing environment
enterpreneurs from Brescia: Emilio Gnutti, Dino Marniga and
Vittorio Palazzani.

The Team shall take part to the 1994 Championship as
Minardi-Scuderia Italia with a Minardi car equipped with
a Ford HB engine step 7-8 and the Italian couple Michele
Alboreto and Pierluigi Martini as drivers.

Martini's two 5th places in Spain and France, added to
Alboreto's 6th place in Montecarlo, brought five points
home to the Team, giving it 10th place overall in the
Constructors World Championship. 

A brand new car equipped with a highly innovative
aerodynamics design, electrohydraulic gearbox, automatic
clutch and a Ford EDM engine will tackle the 1995 season. 

The driver line-up sees Pierluigi Martini reconfirmed,
joined by Luca Badoer and the new F.3 champion Giancarlo
Fisichella as test-driver. Since the Hungarian Grand Prix,
Martini is replaced by the young Portuguese driver Pedro
Lamy.

His 6th place in Australia bring the first point home to
the Team, confirming the Minardi Scuderia Italia's 10th
place overall in the Constructors World Championship. 

In 1996, further to Scuderia Italia's decision to focus its
efforts on the Touring Cars, the 'rampant lion' comes back
to distinguish the Faenza racing cars which shall be
powered by Ford engine. 

The driver Pedro Lamy will remain, while the Portuguese
team-mate will be Taki Inoue,first Japanese driver at the
wheel of a Minardi. The test-drivers will be the Italian
Badoer and Fisichella. 

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Source: http://www.datasail.it/minardi/
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