Tuesday 30th January 2001

Australian businessman Paul Stoddart purchased the Minardi Formula One team. He ran the team for five years before selling it on to Red Bull in 2005 who renamed it Scuderia Toro Rosso. 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 team never achieved a podium finish, only managing three 4th place finishes: Martini twice in 1991 and Christian Fittipaldi in 1993.