Minardi, Nani, Luis Perez Sala discussed on The Autosport Podcast
Automatic TRANSCRIPT
Think he did a good job. I guess the name, I guess we're going to talk about who didn't make the list in this ten slot. I think the only person who might really be considered. I was two names I thought or one was Luis Perez sala, but then when you look at how he compared to Pierre Louis martini, he's completely utterly blown apart. So I think he was a point score, but I think it's fair enough to not have it in the list, but I think perhaps more hard done by is perhaps Pedro army, who is a better driver. He's a better driver than he probably gets credit for these days. But as with these always with this, if you put it in someone in, who do you take out and looking down the list, I'm not convinced that there's anyone that I would remove to get Pedro in there. But I think he deserves a sort of honorable mention, really. Absolutely. And with Pedro almi, the main reason that I didn't include him was because of someone that we'll talk about later during their team head to head. Where lami did impress against one of his minardi teammates, but then was beaten quite comprehensively by the other. So we're going to talk about that a little bit later, but absolutely army is the record equal record holder of the number of Nurburgring 24 hour wins with 5. So a very distinguished driver who just didn't show that quite in Formula One. All right, let's move on in 9th place. You put Alessandro namini started 30 times, didn't score any points, did finish 11th best starting position on the grid was 13th. What's your reasoning for him, James? Nani is pretty much setting the mold for what the archetypal minardi driver should be because he was a driver who was young, took a punt on by Giancarlo menardi, the team owner. In this instance, that actually worked together before in formula two. Nanini arrives in Formula One for 1986, which is the second year for minardi in Grand Prix racing as they step up to a two car team. Woefully unreliable moderni V 6 engine turbos really kind of stymied what nanini could do. But actually, when you look at what he did in comparison with Andrea de cesare, who was his significantly more experienced teammate, Nani really doesn't disgrace himself at all. And it's that that I think brings him onto the list because the sheer unreliability means that actually judging his race results is really rather difficult, but yeah, he was 8 all against the Cesaro, which has no main feat any out qualified due to several times in a row later in the season as he gained experience. Including occasionally in the older 85 updated car when the cesaris usually had the pick of the new 86 car, then in 87 he wiped the floor with Adrian campos and was never headed in qualifying. So he got his promotion to spend it on off the back of that and became an F one winner. So on that basis, you can say that that's what Minari was all about. It was giving an opportunity to drivers that could show what they could do in lesser machinery and as future stars. And that teammate comparison is a useful one because it's most of the time identical machinery as best as they can get. And so you can judge them against other drivers as well when putting these lists together. Carefully thoughts I've been humming and hard about whether this driver should actually be one spot higher. One of the things I was looking at is if you look at the Nene versus the next person on our list, he's got a better teammate record. In qualifying. So you could use that to swap them around, but then the next person analyst has one particular moment that just sit from a sympathy point of view means he should probably get a bonus extra position. So I'm pretty comfortable with the nanny, but I just want to pull out one of the stats that James did for his piece. To bear in mind that he started 30 world championship races from nadi. He only saw the finish four times. Now, I think from a modern modern F one fan that perhaps wasn't around in the explosive turbo days of cars littering the track on either side of the road. That seems that seems astonishing, but I think even by the standards of the 1980s, four finishes out of 30. You'd have to have some you'd have to have some real patience with your team, I think. So yeah, now I'm happy with happy with Nani and 9th. I think you could swap 9 and 8 around and around and keep going, but I'm happy with the positions that they're in. Well, let's get into number 8. It's Luca badawa started. A couple more races, 32 starts. Again, no points, but did finish 8th. So not far off the points. Also started it up in 12. James, do you buy that argument that Luca Bella and Alessandro naini a little bit interchangeable or do you think he's got a good shout of being one what? You must do it because you put the list together. One place higher. I mean, you gave us absolutely right in terms of his qualifying record and the nini is better than bodos, bedou had two spells at minardi. He joined in 1995. He had spent a year on the sidelines in 94 as a test driver, and so kind of was shaking off a bit of rust when he started the season alongside. Pillar region martini, who will go on to talk about much more later on. Didn't embarrass himself at all against martini and as you mentioned had some good qualifying results early in the year. And I discovered in researching for this that he actually crossed the line 7th at the 95 Canadian Grand Prix, but the result was taken back a lap because there was a track invasion following Jean lacy's win in the number 27. Ferrari, of course, the Gilles Villeneuve number on the circuit named after him. So it was deemed that that was unfair. They had overtaken the cassava amidst crowds of fans teaming onto the track. So he was doctor place. But yeah, he then joins 40 for a hopeless season and then tests for Ferrari for a couple of years before returning to the grid in 99. He's up against Mark janae and he does he does well against genet. I forgot to mention actually that he was, he was out qualified by Pedro lamy towards the end of 95 when martini steps out and allow me mixes F one come back after his leg breaking test crash at Silverstone for loads us in 94. Bada, he's so unfortunate. The 1999 European Grand Prix is one that a lot of people kind of pick out as a race of what could have been for multiple different drivers. But for bodo, who never scored a point in his Formula One career and it's kind of tainted really by his substitute appearances for Felipe Massa in 2009 after a decade without racing. But he'd be painted in such a different light, had his gearbox not failed when he was running forth. In the closing laps at the Nurburgring, just as Kev mentioned earlier, terribly unfortunate and he was broke down in tears by the side of his car at the roadside. On sympathy deserve a place in the top ten because fourth place would have been equaling that the very best result ever attained by minardi. To add insult to injury, his teammate Mark janae stolen and the only point of the year for the team in 6th place, which was just a double hammer blow really. Not the best record against his teammates in qualifying, but yeah, a good strong racer who arguably probably shouldn't have been in the minardi for that European Grand Prix because perhaps you could argue he should have been the one that Ferrari chose instead of mikasa when Schumacher had his late breaking show that Silverstone. In his prime, woody have done a better job than salo. It's difficult to say, but he certainly wouldn't have ended his F one career without a single point to his name and a subject of mockery really. Yeah, I think that I know which try and be more objective for these, but it's hard to get away from the emotional thing with padal, not just because of that the sort of helmet in the hands sort of crying there by the side of the road.