MARCH 16, 1998

Minardi's cargo problems

LIFE is never easy for the Minardi team but being Formula 1's least successful team has disadvantages.

LIFE is never easy for the Minardi team but being Formula 1's least successful team has disadvantages. After the AustralianÊGrandÊPrix in Melbourne the cargo planes taking the F1 equipment back to Europe were found to be overloaded and nine containers had to be left behind. These all belonged to Minardi.

The team has now recovered all of its equipment and spares and is hoping to have a car finished and ready to run at Mugello on Tuesday and Wednesday to evaluate developments made as a result of experience gained in Australia and to try out some new ideas. The test will be carried out by Shinji Nakano and the team's test driver Laurent Redon, who has decided not to continue in Formula 3000 this year so as to concentrate on his plans to break into Grand Prix racing in the future.

Esteban Tuero is having a few days of vacation having completed a considerable amount of testing and travelling in the weeks before the Australian GP. The Argentine driver has gone home to prepare himself for the two most important races of his season in Brazil and Argentina.