1994 – Scuderia Italia Minardi
The 1994 F1 season started with using the M193B. The engines came directly from Cosworth (no further ex-TWR engines, no deal). The cars had again a new livery; a blue, orange and white livery, with main sponsorship from Lucchini and Beta Tools. There was also support from AGIP, not only financially but also through their PR.
From the Canadian GP, the Minardi M194- Ford V8 came into play. It was again a Costa & Brunner designed car with the M193 monocoque as a starting base. Costa had designed a new semi-automatic gearbox and a new hydraulic suspension system. The gearbox started to get into full use from the German GP onwards without many problems; the suspension took a lot of testing before it was well understood. By the end of the year, however, it was shelved and the cars returned to the conventional suspension. The drivers were Pierluigi Martini and thanks to a more financial stability since the merger with Lucchini, Michele Alboreto.
Martini started with a P08 in Brazil, but retired in the next two races. Alboreto was on his way to points at Aida before crashing into a Sauber and the lost a rear wheel at a pitstop in Imola. Martini becoming stronger in qualifying up to P09 in Monaco but collided with Morbidelli’s Footwork in the first corner. Alboreto scored the first point of the season by finishing the race in sixth position. Martini scored two points again in Spain.
The Minardi M194 cars regularly qualified in the midfield with Martini a few places ahead of Alboreto. Point finishes were rare with only Martini finishing fifth at Magny Cours. The cars were fast enough on the straight, but the limited time for wind tunnel testing made that they could not improve the car further during the season.
Worst race of the year: Hockenheim. The engines did not like the long straight and both cars were eliminated in a start line incident. They were battling for position in Hungary, but Martini spun on an oil patch and Alboreto finished seventh. In Spa (the 150th race for Minardi) there were new sidepods introduced and the race ended in a P09 for Martini and a P10 for Alboreto. Italie, Estoril and Jerez were races to forget. In Japan at the rolling start because of the rain, both cars were again eliminated in the first lap. In Australia, Alboreto had a suspension failure and Martini came home in P09.
Five points in total for the constructors championship (P10), with growth and progress expected for next year.
1995 – Scuderia Italia Minardi
Big changes met the F1 fans at the beginning of 1995 season. The new engine capacity rule (3.0 litre instead of 3.5) was the biggest technical change since 1989 when turbo engines were prohibited. Also in '95, cars were made more safe than in '94 due to resizing of cockpits and new crash-test regulations.
The Minardi Team had hoped to start the 1995 season with the Mugen engines and the Faenza-based team was in close contact with Japanese engineers to make this happen. Unfortunately, the engines were snapped away at the last minute by Ligier, owned by Flavio Briattore. The beautiful Minardi M195, again a design by Aldo Costa, Mauro Gennari and Mariano Alperin had the reliable Ford ED in the back. It was the first Minardi with a high nose cone and with a new design of the flanks and air intakes for the radiators. The M195 car was an unusual colour for Minardi with a green, black and white livery. Behind the wheel, Minardi legend Pierluigi Martini was joined by fellow Italian Luca Badoer. Badoer would drive all races; Martini drove the first nine before handing his seat back to Pedro Lamy from the German GP onwards, who returned to the team after his accident in 1994 and with the much needed financial backing. As always with the Minardi’s, the car was good from the start. Sadly due to financial struggles the team was unable to properly develop the car during the year.
In Brazil, first race of the year both cars were out with gearbox issues and in Argentina both were out of accidents. The two drivers finished the race in San Marino, way out in the back. After a P14 in Spain, Martini finished just outside the points in Monaco, while Badour had technical issues (suspension, gearbox). Then Badour finished eight in Canada and had a P13 in France, while it was now Martini’s turn to have the technical problems.
The British GP and the Hungary GP were the best races of the season for the team with both cars finishing within the top 10 without scoring any points. In between, in the German GP, There were engine and gearbox problems.
Luca Badoer had a miserable Belgium GP, starting spinning into the armco. Lamy was tenth.
At Monza, Badoer had an accident and Lamy a problem with the differential. This was followed in Portugal with a gearbox issue again, with Badoer finishing P14. Both cars saw again the finish line at European, Pacific and Japan GP’s , sometimes within top 10. In The final race in Australia, Lamy scored a point, while Badoer was unable to start due to electrical problems.
It was unfortunately again a year of trying and surviving.
