Minardi

[cds_uk]

The will Minardi score points thread got me thinking, If PS decides to stay on next year what in your opinion would be his best options to improve the team, i am assuming he will have to use cosworth engines again and that Justin will be driving a Jag, so bearing that in mind i would get Rinland in sharpish to design the car, (he is so wasted in touring cars, he also knows how to design a good car for that engine) i would keep Jos on, he is doing okay, brings the car home and of course it keeps the sponsors happy, keeping with Pauls young driver in one of his cars theory i would like to see Pantano or Cochet in the second seat, both very quick and smooth, on a personal note i am a huge Minardi fan and have been since Martini made a fool of himself back in 85, the Simod livery was one of the coolest, but i am really worried for the team now, Stoddy seems to be getting cheesed off with the whole situation and if he says enough i have no idea who will bail them out, interested in your thoughts guys.

[DriverT]

Is this the same Rinland that was supposed to have designed the Minardi a few years ago, but when the media came to interview members of the team about Rinlands contribution, they didn't know who he was?

[gttouring]

minardi's mystery is like there good performances-wispy and ethereal.
What is with this team- now with a better sponsor are they going any where with all this? and how can you say he can design a good chassis for that engine? he hasn't yet...

[Super Tourer]

Minardi are back in the vicious circle IMO. Despite increasing spending on engine's, they have not made the progress up the grid that PS was predicting pre-season.

If anything, this shows you simply can't bolt a better engine on the back and expect to gain places on the grid, it's about the whole package, and Minardi does not have the resources to produce that.

This leads to a very slow development of the car, which in turn results in them standing still as other team develop their cars quicker, so effectively Minardi are always pegged back.

I was surprised that PS said Minardi would continue to build cars, even when new rules allowing teams to run 'ex works' cars comes into force. I would have thought that getting a year old Jaguar chassis and hiring someone like Rinland to develop a few tweaks on it, would stand a chance of making some more progress.

[steve nielsen]

Minardi's problem is that some of the people who sponored them(Gazprom and BSA) did'nt pay, so they did'nt have money for testing, the 1:1 car has actualy never been into the windtunnel yet. Jos and Greg Wheeler(his engineer) have said they know exactly what has to be done to make that car faster, but the problem is that there is no money to do so.
Greg also wants a day of testing so they can try out different compounds of Bridgestone tyres(but, NO MONEY)

in the end it all comes down to money.

[Logrence]

Apparently Stoddart's lining up Mercedes engines for next year, but that's just rumourness.

The problem is, it's all very well having Justin Wilson, but you need 2 consistently fast drivers to get the team where it needs to be...

[steve nielsen]

they have 2 fast drivers

[mac]

One of my biggest disappointments this year has unfortunately been Minardi. They have gone backwards. Jos and Justin are giving 1000%, but the thing just doesn't go.

[garagegirl]

it's sad really when you think about it. i'm a big minardi fan and would love nothing more than to see them do well, but like others have said, at the end of the day it all comes down to money, which is something the team haven't got enough of

[Super Tourer]

Just to concurr, I can't help thinking that Minardi are wasting their time and money at the moment, and I'm not sure how they can realisitically achieve any more without a massive increase in budget and resources.

I would guess that they have spent more this year than in recent times - for little appreaciable improvement. If they fail to score any points this year, presuamably this will effect their FIA benefits next year and threaten their future once again.

Would they be better off racing in CART, now that it is developing it's calendar on a more world wide basis?

[Tristan]

"Minardi are wasting their time and money"

I think you're missing the point.

I worry and despair for my Minardi boys. Plus to be honest I don't think the power plant is *the* big problem (it's *a* problem, sure, but...) - it's the relative lack of downforce that car produces.

[Super Tourer]

Tristan - I take your point, all I am saying is that it is pointless paying more for engines, if you can't translate that performance increase into a better overall car - as the net result is more expenditure, for less reward.

I want to see the truly independent teams survive, but it seems the 'will' amongst the bigger teams to 'help them' is on the wane.

What happens next year if their FIA benefits are less and another fully budgeted driver doesn't come along (surely they had a struggle this year to find two with the required funds), this will only lead to, at best an even more depleted effort- or at worst no team.

I really feel that Minardi (and Jordan) would fare so much better in CART, than struggling just to take part (not even really compete in the true sense) in F1

[BootsOntheSide]

I think they should certainly try to run someone else's car from this year, as that will save them a fortune which can go on helping the team run effectively, and perhaps free them from ever having to use paying drivers. They will, unfortunately, probably lose Justin this year, but they'd be able to sign an experienced driver such as Panis or Frentzen, maybe even DC would be tempted, alongside a gifted youngster such as Wirdheim. Maybe they'd be abl to afford a sideline operation in CART or IRL, or put the great Minardi name in the Indy 500.

[golem]

Personally, they need to grab the chassis of whoever scores the least WDC points out of BAR and Jag. Both Chassis seem quick but maybe temperamental... now if Minardi produced their own drivetrain with a cheapish engine, the could develop the chassis further.

I think the BAR and Jag chassis are fairly evenly matched tell the truth. Both Button and Webber have qualified it fairly well and when allowed, it's raced reasonably well. If Stoddy was going to stay with bridgestone, I'd be inclined to go BAR.

Personally though, I have this strange thing telling me Stoddy might be better off taking up Renault's partnership idea and badging it not Infiniti but plain Nissan. Either that or seek a similar deal with Ferrari and run as Minardi - Maserati, with Massa as one of the drivers.

[steve nielsen]

The Nissan idea makes sense, Minardi sponsor Superfund als sponsor the Nissan World series........