DECEMBER 19, 2005

Goodbye Giancarlo

Giancarlo Minardi has left the team that used to have his name. The 58-year-old Italian has been involved in running his own teams since 1972 when he entered Formula 2 with a team called Scuderia del Passatore.

Giancarlo Minardi has left the team that used to have his name. The 58-year-old Italian has been involved in running his own teams since 1972 when he entered Formula 2 with a team called Scuderia del Passatore. After a period during which the team was known as Scuderia Everest it became in 1980 Minardi Spa and entered F1 in 1985. As financial difficulties increased over the years, Minardi owned fewer and fewer shares in the team and by 2001 he was simply employed by the new owner Paul Stoddart, his job being to look for sponsorship and to develop young drivers. The sale of the team to Red Bull and its transformation into Scuderia Toro Rosso means that Minardi no longer has a role. Red Bull has an established young driver programme and the team does not need additional sponsorship and Minardi has now decided to move on. In a statement to the media, Minardi says that he has little in common with the management and so he has resigned.

The Minardi family will remain a big name in Faenza as they still run the oldest Fiat dealership in Italy, which dates back to 1927, and Giancarlo is also the owner of the local soccer team. Minardi may also decide that he would like to stay in racing doing something else - perhaps starting another team called Minardi!