Where do Minardi go from here?

[Ryo28]

Its been an awful year for Minardi even by their standards,their worst since the retirement fests of 1986/87 maybe, despite a reasonable engine/drivers. What can they do to improve? (especially when no drivers want to join the team having seen Verstappen/Wilson/Kiesa manhandle the car around at the very back this year)

[JR Ewing]

Why is this under the IRL?

[Stephen Green]

Well they could start by going to the F1 forum where this message should be!

[3state]

administrators, can this thread be moved to where it belongs??? thanks

[BootsOntheSide]

Maybe they could switch to CART or the IRL, and run up the front, on their budget?

[Down F0rce]

moved

[Super Tourer]

Thanks DF

I guess if Jos takes his cash elsewhere they will be struggling even more. They certainly didn't live up to Stoddart's pre-season predictions, ending up as much off the pace as ever.

Being realistic, they cannot 'compete' in the true sense of the word, as they are a miniscule team against the weight of some of the worlds biggest companies.

I have often wondered why they don't move to CART where their budget would be very good in comparison, and their F1 experience should see them become very competitive.

However, Minardi is an evocative team and has been the proving ground for a lot of F1 stars. Maybe it ought to be adopted by a car maker as a junior team to try out new drivers and engineers, this would confirm it's almost unofficial function.

It looks like the 2004 car will be a mix of the Arrows and this years Minardi. I would guess that aero work is where they are losing a lot of time, but this is expensive to cure and develop - which comes back to money again.

Very difficult year ahead I feel.

[Ryo28]

whoops - you can tell im new here! Thanks for moving it

[Super Tourer]

We've all done it! Welcome to ten-tenths Ryo28, enjoy posting here !

ST

[climb]

I repeat here a theory i exposed some time ago.
Minardi is useful noe more than ever to the F1 cause.
Infact the entrance of huge global car companies, with impressive investments, cannot risk be frustrated by arriving LAST.
You may lose, but being last would be so counterproductive that some companies could be dissuaded from getting into the circus.
A squad like Minardi protects them from such a risk, and makes F1 heavy investments much more attractive.Then it's very precious for the whole organisation.
That explains why Minardi have always been stopped when thet seemd close to a decisive upgrade, but have been rescued each time bankruptcy kncked on their door.
This year even Bernie hiself intervened, and this fact undoubtedly strenghtens my thought.

[Smokey 6 litre]

Onwards and upwards...i hope.

F1 needs Minardi, never mind all the concord agreement stuff, i want to see Minardi in F1 for a long while. Who else is going to give drivers chances, e.g Mark Webber, Wilson, etc.
Which other boss could ammuse us by complaining a lot and being wildly optomistic.

[3state]

Welcome Ryo28. No biggy. Thanks Down Force!

[Mr V]

They carry on as they always have, unfortunatly.

[ralf fan]

Well OK F1 needs 10 teams BUT do we need a 10th team like MINARDI??? on most tracks they are 4-5 secs off the pace and get lapped left right and centre and the thing is they dont have the resources to improve!

I wish we could have 12 or even 13 teams!! maybe ECCLEHEAD could make BERNIE RACING or something......

[Knowlesy]

They'll probably just get slower every year and end up so slow they can't get to their garage on time and get thrown out of the race and the championship.

[garcon]

I see a bright new future for Minardi. A new hero will join and save the team! His name? Valentino Rossi!!

[Speed]

Originally posted by Smokey 6 litre
Onwards and upwards...i hope.

F1 needs Minardi, never mind all the concord agreement stuff, i want to see Minardi in F1 for a long while. Who else is going to give drivers chances, e.g Mark Webber, Wilson, etc.

..., Trulli, Fisichella, Alonso, Gené...

[Knowlesy]

Originally posted by Smokey 6 litre
Onwards and upwards...i hope.

Sadly, I fear not. Mind you, I said that about Chelsea football club and suddenly a rich oil magnate comes along and........

[The Moon Monkey]

Without Minardi (plus Sauber and Jordan) the manufacturers will soon start to pull out of F1 when they realise they are spending millions and millions of pounds each year only to qualify last on the grid and finish last in the race (which is where Honda or Jaguar (Ford) would be without the privateers)...

[Stevespurr]

What happens to them now do they have to find thier own transportation costs having not scored any points this season?

[Knowlesy]

That's usually what happens steve. Put it this way, they don't get a great deal of money. If any.

I think though, that the FIA may step in to help, seeing as though they are keen to save privateer teams and the failure of the fighting fund.

[ralf fan]

yeah itll probably be as Brundle so nicely put it "the ecclestone Minardi" next year unless....... this ABRAMOVIC rumour is to be beleived

[Knowlesy]

Well there's a rumour now, ralfy, that Ecclestone didn't actually put any money into Minardi at all. Which seems odd really, given that Stoddart used to talk about how lovely Bernie gave him 6 million or so.

[vatuloa]

Minardi has to stay but if it has to rely on paid drivers it may not be doing the sport a lot of good the problem I see is once Tobacco sponsorship is stopped how many other teams will join them. Look at Bar and the Jorden both with tobacco sponsorship Minardi is struggling because it doen't have any big sponsors and there was a thread recently on Bernie not putting the $6m in

[Svend]

Minardi wasn't that much worse compared to other years. The difference is that we used to have teams like Tyrrell, Arrows & Prost to fill up the gap between Minardi and the factory teams, and they have all disappeared.

Jordan looked **** all year, they might have looked better as well when Arrows and Prost would still be around.