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Giancarlo Minardi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Minardi in 1974 | |
| Born | (1947-09-18)September 18, 1947 (age 77) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Known for | founder ofMinardi Formula One team |
Giancarlo Minardi (born 18 September 1947) is the founder and managing director of the now-defunctMinardiFormula One team.
Minardi was born inFaenza (Ravenna), Italy and has spent his life with cars. As a young boy, his family managed aFiat dealership and anAgip fuel station, and currently managesIveco and Selenia dealerships. His father, Giovanni Minardi, who died when Giancarlo was young, was also heavily involved inmotor racing.
Giancarlo Minardi began his career as a business man, running a successful truck dealership in Italy.
He began his racing career in 1968, buying a Faccioli tunedFiat 500, achieving good results in the varioushillclimbs he competed in. Subsequently he beganrallying aFiat 124, after which he turned his attention to leading theScuderia del Passatore racing team. Between 1972 and 1974 he led the team to good results in Formula Italia, being runner-up in the 1972 championship and then in 1973 going on to win the title withGiancarlo Martini as driver. After a name change to Scuderia Everest in 1975, his team raced aBMW-March in the EuropeanFormula Two Championship for two years.
In 1980 he formed theMinardi racing team with financial backing from well known Italian motor racing patron Piero Mancini. Giancarlo led the Minardi team to four successfulFormula Two seasons, the most notable success being a 1981 win at the Misano round withMichele Alboreto.
Formula One was the next logical step for Minardi in 1985. In 1991,Ferrari provided Minardi withV12 engines.
Money woes hit and in 1994 Minardi joined his team with Scuderia Italia in an effort to survive. In 1996 money ran short again and by year's end Minardi was forced to sell 70% of his team to a new investor consortium. Giancarlo retained 14.5% with the remaining 15.5% distributed between the Scuderia Italia investors (Emilio Gnutti, Giuseppe Lucchini and Vittorio Palazzani) and Defendente Marniga. In an attempt to help saving the teamFlavio Briatore became the main shareholder after a deal brokered byBernie Ecclestone. In 1997Gabriele Rumi fromFondmetal entered as a major partner. Minardi and Rumi shared the General Director role from 1997 to 2000.
2001 saw another change in the ownership of the Minardi team withAustralianPaul Stoddart buying the company, although Giancarlo retained the role of Managing Director, with particular emphasis on the development of young drivers. He left Minardi after the takeover and renaming toScuderia Toro Rosso by theRed Bull energy drink concern in 2006. Subsequently he offered support to both Minardi Team byGP Racing inEuro F3000 andMinardi Piquet Sports inGP2 resulting in significant success for both teams, most notably withNelson Piquet Jr. himself in GP2 who finished runner up toLewis Hamilton in the 2006 championship.
Driver development is an area in which Giancarlo is considered to have significant aptitude. He has identified and given breaks to many drivers who subsequently went on to achieve successes with other teams and in other formulas. Drivers such asGiancarlo Fisichella,Fernando Alonso,Mark Webber andJarno Trulli all had their Formula One debut with Minardi.
Giancarlo currently resides in Faenza, Italy. He is married to Mara and has one son named after his father Giovanni. His son runs the driver management firm Minardi Management, who represents most notably F2 driverAndrea Kimi Antonelli.[1][2] He has two brothers: Giuseppe, who has taken over the Fiat dealership (bankrupt in 2010)[3] and Nando who now runs the truck concession. Giancarlo was the chairman of the football clubFaenza Calcio.
In 2010, he ran for Mayor of Faenza.
In 2021, he became the president of theImola Circuit.[4]
In 2022, he became the President of theFIA's Single Seater Commission.[5]
