Formula One news

Early baths for both Minardis

Today's Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya turned out to be a disappointing race for Wilux Minardi Cosworth, the Faenza squad failing to get either of its cars to the chequered flag. After experiencing a technical problem at the start, which saw his car held up leaving the grid, Zsolt Baumgartner spun off the track at turn nine on race lap 19, while allowing a faster car to pass. Team mate, Gianmaria Bruni, found himself grappling with braking difficulties, his car spinning into retirement on race lap 34, seven laps after the second of his three scheduled pit stops. 

"Pretty much from the beginning of the race I was having a problem with brake locking," explained Bruni. "I adjusted the balance to try to improve things, but several times I had difficulty braking for turn eight. On that last lap, the front wheels locked again, the back of the car got loose as a result, and I spun. It's disappointing, not only for me, but also for the guys, who worked really hard all weekend. We'll just have to see if we can do better in Monaco."

Baumgartner commented, "It seems like all the bad things that could happen in a race all happened to me today! I didn't get away properly at the start and lost a couple of seconds, but then the car was running well after that. The problem came when I was trying to obey the waved blue flags and let one of the Saubers through. I stayed to the dirty side of the track going into turn nine, and when I tried to turn in, the tyres wouldn't grip and I spun into the gravel. It was a difficult place to try to let someone through, and I paid the price. I particularly want to thank the team for all the effort they put in, and I'm just sorry I wasn't able to get to the finish for them." 

Team Chief Paul Stoddart concluded, "Sadly, Barcelona has again proven to be an unlucky track for Minardi. For our cars to be the first two retirements from today's race is hardly due reward for all the work the boys put in this weekend, but that is sometimes the difficult side of motor racing. We'll now focus on the Monaco Grand Prix, which poses its own unique set of challenges."

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