In 1979 Giancarlo Minardi founded his Italian automobile racing team and initially competed in the European Formula 2 Championship. It was based in the Italian town of Faenza, which lies approximately 50 km southeast of Bologna. They very quickly stepped up to the main-game and competed in Formula One between 1985 through to 2005 where the Minardi Formula One team acquired a loyal fan base as they soldiered through each season.
They became a well-liked, well-respected team that for many years resisted taking on paying drivers and had to endure with limited funds. Former drivers include Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Giancarlo Fisichello, Alessandro Nannini and Jarno Trulli. All went on to establish themselves in the F1 paddock with careers in other teams.
In the broader scheme of things, the returns for the effort of the Minardi team and drivers was poor but they literally lacked the funds and were always at the back of the field. Of the 38 championship points gained in 20 years (remember much of this time only the first six gained points, not the first ten we have today), 16 were earned by their first driver Pierluigi Martini between 1985 and 1995.
While the team finished fourth on three different occasions, they never achieved a pole position, a podium or a win.
In early 2001 with the team struggling to carry on, it was sold to Australian Paul Stoddard and became European Minardi. His tenure was short lived and the team was eventually sold to Red Bull at the end of 2005 on the proviso that the team remain based in Faenza.
The newly named team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, functioned as a junior team to Red Bull Racing and under their initial guidance (and funding) and has gone on to achieve much improved results compared to the 21 years under the Minardi name.
This includes their first pole position and race win in 2008 with Sebastian Vettel (pictured) who won the Italian Grand Prix. They are the first Italian team, outside of Ferrari, to win since a Maserati took victory at the 1957 German Grand Prix.
Despite their one Grand Prix win, Toro Rosso has not produced the drivers that have gone on to cement F1 careers in comparison with Minardi despite their superior funding and resources. Yes, Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen have come into F1 via the team and now Carlos Sainz Jr and Pierre Gasly are showing a potential that may well lead to a long F1 career. (With Brendon Hartley the future is decidedly unclear.)
Toro Rosso drivers’ that only ever drove for one F1 team include American Scott Speed, Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, Frenchmen Sebastien Bourdais and Jean-Eric Vergne, Swiss Sebastien Buemi and Russian Danil Kvyat (drove for Red Bull 2005-06).
Arguably one team has gone about promoting debuting drivers while the other has cut short the careers of most of theirs. One team created a following and respect from fans while the other appears to be at the ‘beck and call’ of their sister team. So is Toro Rosso just a dumping ground for emerging talent. Is it there just to test and prove ideas and designs for Red Bull Racing?
We may well have to wait to read the racing memoirs of Brendon Hartley to find out more.
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