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Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza 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 GmbH in 2005 who renamed it Scuderia Toro Rosso. Initially called "M" (short for Minardi) then a number, from 2001, all of Minardi chassis were called "PS", the PS being the initials of team owner, Paul Stoddart.
During its time in F1, the team scored a total of 38 championship points; 16 of these were earned by the team's first driver, Pierluigi Martini. Martini also recorded the team's only front row start, qualifying 2nd at the 1990 United States Grand Prix, and he led a lap during the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, the only time a Minardi led a lap. The team never achieved a podium finish, only managing three 4th-place finishes: Martini twice in 1991 and Christian Fittipaldi in 1993.
In the 21 seasons, Minardi entered 37 drivers. Thirteen had Italian nationality (nine of whom raced during the time the team was owned by Giancarlo Minardi), the others came with 13 different nationalities (discounting Doornbos racing under a Monaco license in 2005). Martini holds the record for more starts with the team with 103 Grands Prix, followed by Gianni Morbidelli and Marc Gené with 33 starts.
Before Minardi's demise, the team was particularly well-liked within Formula One circles for its friendliness, accessibility, and lack of corporate culture. On the track, their cars were regarded by many as well-designed for their tiny budget, their low position recognised as a result of a lack of funds (and engine power) rather than a poor car. They also resisted employing Pay driver more than most other financially constrained teams. Former Minardi drivers include double World Champion Fernando Alonso, Grand Prix winners Alessandro Nannini, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli and Mark Webber; CART IndyCar World Series double champion Alex Zanardi and race winners Justin Wilson and Christian Fittipaldi; and 24 Hours of Le Mans overall winners Michele Alboreto, Pierluigi Martini, and Marc Gené.
After his father’s death, Giancarlo took over the racing part of the family business. He took the reins of the Scuderia del Passatore in the early 1970s. He decided to start competing with a Brabham BT28 chassis and an Alfa Romeo engine in Formula Italia rather than Formula 3, like it was decided before. In 1972, the team finished runner-up with Giancarlo Martini, but he won in the following season. In 1974, Lamberto Leoni lost the championship due to a controversial black flag. In 1975, the team was renamed “Scuderia Everest” for sponsorship reasons. The promising Elio De Angelis raced for the team in 1977 and 1978 while Clay Regazzoni raced in 1978 and 1979. Minardi ran with March chassis and BMW engines in Formula Two from 1975 to 1979.
In 1976, the team briefly ran a customer Formula One Ferrari 312T with Giancarlo Martini, uncle of Pierluigi Martini. Martini Sr. qualified 15th for the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch but failed to start the race after an accident during the warm-up lap. The team then competed at the BRDC International Trophy in Silverstone where Martini finished 10th. In 1979, Minardi received financial backing from well known Italian motor racing patron Piero Mancini and set up the Minardi racing team as a Formula Two constructor. Constructors: Minardi GrandPrix.com; Retrieved 2 August 2006
The team's most notable result remains the 1981 win at the Misano Circuit round by Michele Alboreto. Minardi left the lower division at the end of 1984, although in 1986 a modified version of their final Formula Two car, the M283, was entered without success in two rounds of the Formula 3000 championship which had replaced Formula Two in 1985.
Nonetheless, the team expanded to two cars for the season. In 1988, Minardi switched to Cosworth engines, and in 1989 it became top entrant for Pirelli's return to Formula One. The team was moderately successful in the midfield through the late 1980s and early 1990s, giving a succession of Italian drivers their first chance at the top level, including Alessandro Nannini, Pierluigi Martini and Gianni Morbidelli (Nannini, who had been the team's Formula 2 driver from 1982–1984, had actually been the team's first choice as their F1 driver in 1985, but they had to go with Martini after FIA refused to grant Nannini the Super Licence required to drive in F1. They would grant Nannini the licence in 1986). Martini in particular was synonymous with Minardi, eventually having three spells with the team. He drove for them on their debut in 1985, scored their first point in the 1988 United States Grand Prix, although he had been running 5th for quite a long time during the race until being passed by Tyrrell's Jonathan Palmer, took their only front-row start at 1990 USA Grand Prix (aided by special Pirelli tyres; several of their other drivers had surprise qualifying results that day. Also, day 2 of qualifying was rained out so no one improved), their only lap leading a race in the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, where he finished 5th, and scored their joint-best F1 result up to that point (the other being at the British Grand Prix the same year). In 1991, Minardi became the first team in modern times to make use of customer engines from Scuderia Ferrari and in 1992 they used Lamborghini V12s. In 1993, Minardi enjoyed a good campaign, collecting seven points thanks to Christian Fittipaldi's fourth place in the 1993 South African Grand Prix and fifth place in the 1993 Monaco Grand Prix and Fabrizio Barbazza sixth places in the 1993 European Grand Prix and 1993 San Marino Grand Prix.
Points were rare during this time; Pedro Lamy scored his one and only point in Formula 1 with a 6th place in the 1995 Australian Grand Prix; this result was followed by a long barren spell until Marc Gené finished 6th in the 1999 European Grand Prix. That same race, Luca Badoer had been running fourth until his gearbox failed with 13 laps to go, at which point the Italian burst into tears next to his stricken car. Other Minardi drivers also came close to scoring points, including Shinji Nakano who finished 7th at the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix and Esteban Tuero, who finished 8th at the 1998 San Marino Grand Prix.
Minardi was known for not using pay drivers, but for the 2000 season, the team signed Argentinian Gastón Mazzacane, who only acquired the seat thanks to backing from the short-lived pay television channel Pan-American Sports Network.
From 2003 until their final season in 2005, Minardi used Ford Cosworth/Cosworth branded engines due to Asiatech folding at the end of the previous season. The Cosworth engines though not very reliable did help Minardi to some decent points scoring positions now and again.
Another memorable episode happened during the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix. The race was stopped just after 75% distance, after treacherous weather and a sequence of accidents, including a spin into the grass for lead Minardi driver Jos Verstappen. Stoddart later claimed that Verstappen had enough fuel on board to last until just after the time the red flag was eventually waved, due to the large number of safety car laps. Assuming Stoddart was being truthful, Verstappen may well have won this race had he not spun.
During its final years, the Minardi team was almost as famous for its politics as for its racing. Stoddart was described as the Formula One teams' unofficial shop steward. During his time as team principal, Stoddart campaigned for reduced costs in the sport. He 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. Before the start of the 2004 season, however, Stoddart threatened to withdraw his support against the ban on traction control, but later changed his mind. Midway through the 2004 season, the other teams voted to change the unpopular single lap qualifying system back to the old 1 hour format, but Stoddart voted against because it would also mean the 107% rule being reintroduced; this meant the change never occurred, as a unanimous vote was required to change something so significant in the middle of a season. 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, claiming Minardi could not afford to do so. Once again Stoddart ended up withdrawing his threat. Stoddart also repeatedly called for the resignation of the FIA's President, Max Mosley, particularly in the aftermath of the 2005 United States Grand Prix where the majority of teams withdrew from the race due to safety concerns about their Michelin tyres. While Minardi had run Bridgestone tyres, Stoddart had offered to compromise with the Michelin teams but Mosley had rejected it.
In 2004, Minardi was represented by two rookies, Italy Gianmaria Bruni and Hungary 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. Baumgartner was also the first Hungarian to score a point in a World Championship F1 race.
In 2005, Minardi's drivers were Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher. They amassed a total of seven points following the debacle of the 2005 United States Grand Prix, in which they finished fifth and sixth (of six runners) respectively. After losing financial backing from his sponsors before the 2005 German Grand Prix, Friesacher was replaced by Dutch Jordan test driver Robert Doornbos, creating the first all-Dutch driver line-up in Formula One since Carel Godin de Beaufort and Ben Pon drove together for the Ecurie Maarsbergen team at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
Ending several weeks of speculation on 10 September 2005 Red Bull announced it would take control of Minardi in November and run it as their "rookie team" from 2006.
Minardi fans worldwide immediately started an online petition ForzaMinardi.com 2005 Forza Minardi; Retrieved 28 May 2015 to save the Minardi team name and the team's 20-year heritage in F1 after the news broke. The petition was not successful and the team was renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2006 season. The greatly increased funding from Red Bull, including the use of the Red Bull chassis, customer Scuderia Ferrari engines and Red Bull Technology transmissions, gradually led to improved results, culminating in Toro Rosso's only pole position and win by Sebastian Vettel at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. The team was further renamed Scuderia AlphaTauri in 2020 to promote the clothing brand of Red Bull. The team won as AlphaTauri at Monza in 2020, with Pierre Gasly. The team was further renamed again as Visa Cash App RB in 2024.
On 1 January 2006, Giancarlo Minardi re-acquired certain rights to use the Minardi name in racing. He also announced that he was licensing the Minardi name to established team GP Racing in the junior Euro Formula 3000 series, to be entitled 'Minardi Team by GP Racing'. Minardi name back in racing ITV Sport; Retrieved 2 August 2006 The team raced with moderate success, scoring a podium in each leg of the Spa round in June 2006. Minardi; Retrieved 2 August 2006 For 2007, Minardi Team by GP Racing combined forces with GP2 team Piquet Sports, to form Minardi Piquet Sports. "Minardi moving on up" GrandPrix.com, 3 October 2006 For 2008 the team was known simply as Piquet Sports.
In 2006, Paul Stoddart declared his intention to enter a new team called 'European Minardi F1 Team Ltd' into Formula One beginning in . His application was unsuccessful, with the 12th place on the grid being awarded to Prodrive. Stoddart to re-enter F1 with Minardi in 2008 F1Racing.net, retrieved 2 August 2006 Instead, Stoddart turned his attentions to the U.S.-based Champ Car series. On 18 December 2006, it was confirmed that he had purchased a controlling interest in the CTE Racing-HVM Champ Car team and that the team would be renamed Minardi Team USA. In 2007, the team had reasonable success. Robert Doornbos took two wins and several podium places on his way to third in the series, winning Rookie of the Year honours. When the series folded before its planned 2008 season, Stoddart's involvement ceased, with the team entering the IndyCar Series under the HVM name.
Stoddart retains the right to use the Minardi name for a British-registered company.
| Pierluigi Martini | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| Motori Moderni 615-90 1.5 V6 Turbocharger | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11† | Ret | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | 8 | |||||
| Andrea de Cesaris | Ret | Ret | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | Ret | |||
| Ret | DNS | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | ||||
| Adrián Campos | DSQ | Ret | Ret | DNS | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||
| Alessandro Nannini | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | 16 | 11† | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||
| Adrián Campos | Ret | 16 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||||
| Pierluigi Martini | 6 | 15 | 15 | DNQ | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | 13 | 7 | ||||||||
| Luis Pérez-Sala | Ret | 11 | Ret | 11 | 13 | Ret | NC | Ret | DNQ | 10 | DNQ | Ret | 8 | 12 | 15 | Ret | |||
| Pierluigi Martini | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | 9 | Ret | 9 | 7 | 5 | Ret | 6 | ||||
| Paolo Barilla | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||
| Luis Pérez-Sala | Ret | Ret | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | DNQ | 6 | DNQ | Ret | 15 | 8 | 12 | Ret | Ret | DNQ | |||
| Pierluigi Martini | 7 | 9 | DNS | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 15 | Ret | 11 | Ret | 8 | 9 | |||
| Paolo Barilla | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | DNQ | 14 | DNQ | 12 | Ret | 15 | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||
| Gianni Morbidelli | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| Pierluigi Martini | 9 | Ret | 4 | 12 | 7 | Ret | 9 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 12† | Ret | 4 | 13 | Ret | Ret | |||
| Gianni Morbidelli | Ret | 8 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | 11 | Ret | 13 | Ret | 9 | 9 | 14† | Ret | ||||
| Roberto Moreno | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Christian Fittipaldi | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | 8 | 13 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 12 | 6 | 9 | ||||||
| Alessandro Zanardi | DNQ | Ret | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| Gianni Morbidelli | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11 | 8 | 17† | 12 | DNQ | 16 | Ret | 14 | 14 | 10 | |||
| Christian Fittipaldi | 4 | Ret | 7 | Ret | 8 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 12† | 11 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 9 | |||||
| Jean-Marc Gounon | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| Fabrizio Barbazza | Ret | Ret | 6 | 6 | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||
| Pierluigi Martini | Ret | 14 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 8 | 10 | Ret | |||||||||||
| Pierluigi Martini | 8 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | 9 | 5 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 8 | Ret | 12 | 15 | Ret | 9 | |||
| Michele Alboreto | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 7 | 9 | Ret | 13 | 14 | Ret | Ret | |||
| Pierluigi Martini | DNS | Ret | 12 | 14 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | ||||||||||
| Pedro Lamy | 9 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 13 | 11 | 6 | |||||||||||
| Luca Badoer | Ret | DNS | 14 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 13 | 10 | Ret | 8 | Ret | Ret | 14 | 11 | 15 | 9 | Ret | ||
| Pedro Lamy | Ret | 10 | Ret | 12 | 9 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | 12 | Ret | 10 | Ret | 16 | 12 | |||
| Ret | 13 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | Ret | 11 | ||||||||||||
| Tarso Marques | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| Giovanni Lavaggi | DNQ | 10† | DNQ | Ret | 15 | DNQ | |||||||||||||
| Ukyo Katayama | Ret | 18 | Ret | 11 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 14 | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | 17 | ||
| Jarno Trulli | 9 | 12 | 9 | DNS | Ret | 15 | Ret | ||||||||||||
| Tarso Marques | Ret | 10 | Ret | 12 | Ret | 14 | EX | Ret | Ret | 15 | |||||||||
| Shinji Nakano | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | 14 | 9 | 7 | 17† | 8 | 11 | Ret | 15 | 8 | Ret | 15 | Ret | |||
| Esteban Tuero | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | 15 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 16 | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | |||
| Luca Badoer | Ret | 8 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 10 | Ret | 13 | 10 | 14 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||
| Stéphane Sarrazin | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||
| Marc Gené | Ret | 9 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 8 | Ret | 15 | 11 | 9 | 17 | 16 | Ret | 6 | 9 | Ret | |||
| Marc Gené | 8 | Ret | Ret | 14 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 16† | 15 | 8 | Ret | 15 | 14 | 9 | 12 | Ret | Ret | ||
| Gastón Mazzacane | Ret | 10 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 8 | Ret | 12 | Ret | 12 | 11 | Ret | 17 | 10 | Ret | 15 | 13† | ||
| Tarso Marques | Ret | 14 | 9 | Ret | 16 | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | 15 | DNQ | Ret | Ret | 13 | |||||
| Alex Yoong | Ret | Ret | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Fernando Alonso | 12 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 14 | 17† | 16 | 10 | Ret | DNS | 13 | Ret | 11 | ||
| Alex Yoong | 7 | Ret | 13 | DNQ | DNS | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | DNQ | 10 | DNQ | 13 | Ret | Ret | ||||
| Anthony Davidson | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| Mark Webber | 5 | Ret | 11 | 11 | DNS | 12 | 11 | 11 | 15 | Ret | 8 | Ret | 16 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 10 | ||
| Justin Wilson | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 14 | 16 | ||||||||
| Nicolas Kiesa | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| Jos Verstappen | 11 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 14 | 16 | 15 | Ret | 12 | Ret | 10 | 15 | |||
| Gianmaria Bruni | NC | 14 | 17 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | Ret | 18† | 16 | 17 | 14 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 16 | 17 | |
| Zsolt Baumgartner | Ret | 16 | Ret | 15 | Ret | 9 | 15 | 10 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 16 | 15 | Ret | 15 | 16 | Ret | 16 | |
| 17 | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 18 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 19 | |||||||||
| Robert Doornbos | 18 | Ret | 13 | 18 | 13 | Ret | 14 | 14† | |||||||||||
| Christijan Albers | Ret | 13 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 14 | 17 | 11 | 5 | Ret | 18 | 13 | NC | Ret | 19 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16† |
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