Minardi M02
The Minardi M02 was the car with which the Minardi Formula One team competed in the 2000 Formula One season. It was driven by the young Spaniard Marc Gené, in his second year with the team, and the Argentine rookie pay-driver Gastón Mazzacane.[1] As ever, the car was a neat and tidy design, but hampered by a lack of power and testing mileage. The new fluorescent yellow colour scheme turned heads, but did little to improve the team's fortunes, as they eventually finished a de facto tenth in the Constructors' Championship, with no points but ahead of Prost due to a better finishing record.[2] The team therefore qualified for some of the sport's television revenues in 2001.
Gastón Mazzacane in the M02 | |||||||||
Category | Formula One | ||||||||
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Constructor | Minardi | ||||||||
Designer(s) | Gustav Brunner | ||||||||
Predecessor | M01 | ||||||||
Successor | PS01 | ||||||||
Technical specifications | |||||||||
Chassis | Monocoque body in carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite | ||||||||
Suspension (front) | In carbon push-rod with torsion bars; steel wishbones; F/S shock absorbers | ||||||||
Suspension (rear) | As front | ||||||||
Length | 4,420 mm (174 in) | ||||||||
Width | 1,800 mm (71 in) | ||||||||
Height | 950 mm (37 in) | ||||||||
Axle track | Front: 1,452 mm (57 in) Rear: 1,420.7 mm (56 in) | ||||||||
Wheelbase | 3,050 mm (120 in) | ||||||||
Engine | Cosworth RV10 (badged as Fondmetal) 3,000 cc (183 cu in) V10 (72°) naturally aspirated mid-mounted | ||||||||
Transmission | Minardi titanium 6-speed longitudinal semi-automatic sequential | ||||||||
Weight | 600 kg (1,323 lb) | ||||||||
Fuel | Elf | ||||||||
Lubricants | Elf | ||||||||
Brakes | Brembo 6-piston calipers, carbon discs and pads | ||||||||
Tyres | Bridgestone Potenza | ||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||
Notable entrants | Telefónica Minardi Fondmetal | ||||||||
Notable drivers | 20. 21. | ||||||||
Debut | 2000 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
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Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
Drivers' Championships | 0 |
At the end of the year, Telefonica pulled out of sponsoring the team, making it the last Formula One car until the 2004 Renault R24 to be sponsored by the Spanish telecommunications company,[3] while Fondmetal boss Gabriele Rumi was forced to sell the team due to ill health, leaving team founder Giancarlo Minardi with the task of finding the budget for 2001. The team was eventually bought by the Australian aviation entrepreneur, Paul Stoddart.[4]
In 2014 British F1 engineering company TDF rebuilt chassis 1 and 2 for demonstration use. Chassis 2 was displayed and ran at speed on circuit at Zandvoort 'Festival Italia' driven by Jan Lammers. This was the first time an M02 chassis had run in public since 2001.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)
Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Minardi | Fondmetal RV10 V10* | B | AUS | BRA | SMR | GBR | ESP | EUR | MON | CAN | FRA | AUT | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | USA | JPN | MAL | 0 | NC | |
Marc Gené | 8 | Ret | Ret | 14 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 16 | 15 | 8 | Ret | 15 | 14 | 9 | 12 | Ret | Ret | ||||||
Gastón Mazzacane | Ret | 10 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 8 | Ret | 12 | Ret | 12 | 11 | Ret | 17 | 10 | Ret | 15 | 13 |
* Denotes Cosworth-built engines, badged as Fondmetal
References
- "Mazzacane and Alonso join Gene at Minardi". grandprix.com. 2000-02-21. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- "Formula 1 results archive". FIA. Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- "Minardi lose Telefonica backing". BBC News. 2000-10-17. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- "Australian tycoon buys Formula One team Minardi". The Independent. 2001-01-30. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- "Formula 1 results archive–Minardi 2000". FIA. Retrieved 2010-12-12.