Giancarlo Minardi

Who is Giancarlo Minardi?

Giancarlo Minardi is the founder and former Managing Director of the now-defunct Minardi Formula One team.

Minardi was born in Faenza, Italy and has spent his life with cars. As a young boy, his family managed a Fiat dealership and an Agip fuel station, and currently manages Iveco and Selenia dealerships. His father, Giovanni Minardi, who died when Giancarlo was young, was also heavily involved in motor 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 tuned Fiat 500, achieving good results in the various hillclimbs he competed in. Subsequently he began rallying a Fiat 124, after which he turned his attention to leading the Scuderia del Passatore racing team. Between 1972 and 1974 he led the Scuderia del Passatore team to good results in Formula Italia, being runner-up in the 1972 championship and then in 1973 going on to win the title with Giancarlo Martini as driver. After a name change to Scuderia Everest in 1975, his team raced a BMW March in the European Formula Two Championship for two years.

In 1980 he formed the Minardi racing team with financial backing from well known Italian motor racing patron Piero Mancini. Giancarlo led the Minardi team to four successful Formula Two seasons, the most notable success being a 1981 win at the Misano round.