Revised perception of Minardi

[mutt kennelkof]

Just been having a look at the qualifying times for Monza today. Bruni was something like 4.85 seconds off the pole time.

Everyone goes "poor old Minardi, always dragging around at the back of the grid"

Now count off five seconds on your watch and then marvel at 1)how short a period of time this is, 2) what a good job Minardi are doing with the budget they have and 3) whether the big teams with 10 times the budget are getting value for money to be only 5 seconds faster than Minardi.

I'll get me flameproof overalls

[kevinday]

That 5 seconds would also be a lot less with better drivers! One driver is certainly there for the budget he brings, I do not know about the other. Put MS, KR, FA, JB, J-PM in the Minardi and I guess a 3 second difference is realistic.

[Hut49]

Ever worked out how far a F1 car goes in 5 seconds at full chat? I'm sure Paul Stoddart does the calc every other week - based on an 1:21 lap of 5.8 kilometers - over 350 metres. It means you get lapped on lap 16!

I hope Minardi get a little better luck than they've had so far this weekend - they deserve it for sheer effort.

[docevi1]

I've always been a fan of Minardi, I love the fact they have it soo tough yet keep going on (although that was put into doubt when Paul Stuart (?) kept going on about th emoney and threatened not to race (fair enough but not the way to do it IMO).

Still, there's more talk about Minardi and their drivers than Toyota IMO..

[D_Mike]

As Martin Brundle pointed out in qualifying at monza they were shifting 1,500rpm earlier than the the Jaguars (both ford/cosworth engines). That's going to hurt a lot around a place like Monza. They obviously have a much less developed engine in the back. Next year they have a deal already available to get the same engines as Jaguar, which should make them a lot more competitive.

[docevi1]

except Jaguar are no more after this year, suprised they didn't mention it... new thread beckons!

[hornet]

Can't remember where I read it, but sure there's a stat about Minardi's total spend for the WHOLE TIME it has been in F1 is still less than the budgets of the big teams for a single season. When you look at how many teams have come and gone in the time Minardi have been around, you really do have to have respect for them.

[minghis]

mutt kennelkof said:

I'll get me flameproof overalls

Quite spooky after what happened in their pit during refuelling today....

[FourWheelDrift]

D_Mike said:

As Martin Brundle pointed out in qualifying at monza they were shifting 1,500rpm earlier than the the Jaguars (both ford/cosworth engines). That's going to hurt a lot around a place like Monza. They obviously have a much less developed engine in the back. Next year they have a deal already available to get the same engines as Jaguar, which should make them a lot more competitive.

This year Minardi are using the Cosworth CR-3L V10 engine which is of circa 2001. A three year old design with some new bits added, but still the same as what Jaguar ran in 2001. In comparison Jaguar are running the Cosworth CR-6 this year, the same (allegedly ) engine that Jordan are using this year.

[Murcielago]

I'm also a fan of Minardi

I just think when their drivers are thrashing around the circuit on their qualifing laps they're very entertaining to watch. Getting the back end out alot.

[.Markski]

Not been to a GP for a few years now, I always keep an eye out for Minardi though.
Are their cars still the only ones that actually still sound like racing cars?
I always used to love hearing them, they had a lovely low rumble rather than the scalded cat type of sound.