Minardi M191

Minardi M191

Constructor:	Minardi
Designer:	Aldo Costa Rene Hilhorst
Predecessor:	Minardi M190
Successor:	Minardi M191B Minardi M191L
Technical specifications
Chassis:	Monocoque
Engine:	Ferrari Tipo 036 and 037 V12
Wheelbase:	2900 mm
Weight:	505 kg
Tires:	Pirelli
Petrol:	Agip
statistics
Driver:	Pierluigi Martini Gianni Morbidelli Roberto Moreno
First start:	1991 USA Grand Prix
Last start:	1991 Australian Grand Prix
Starts Victories Poles SR 16 - - -
World Cup points:	6th
Podiums:	-
Leadership laps:	-
Status: end of season 1992

The Minardi M191 was a Formula 1 racing car, the Minardi in 1991 in one Formula started World Championship.

Development history and technology

The Ferrari 641 from 1990; this Ferrari Formula 1 monoposto was powered by a 3.5 liter V12 engine that was used in the M191 mid-season

The Minardi M191L from 1992; the M191L was almost identical to the M191, the L stood for the 12-cylinder Lamborghini engine

The team of Giancarlo Minardi , Minardi, was since the 1985 season in the Formula 1 active. In winter 1990/1991 it presented the media with an engine contract with Scuderia Ferrari . This was an unusual step for the Scuderia, as the Formula 1 racing engines had previously been reserved for the works team. The only exception to this was the Thinwall Special by Tony Vandervell in the 1950s.

Ferrari initially supplied V12 engines of the 036 series, which were used in the Ferrari 640 in 1989 . In the middle of the year, these 3.5-liter engines were replaced by the more powerful 037 variant from the Ferrari 641 with which Scuderia had contested the 1990 Formula 1 season . In order to accommodate the Ferrari engines, Aldo Costa had to develop a completely new chassis. One problem was funding the Ferrari project. In order to be competitive, Minardi had to upgrade its technical equipment and hire additional staff. After all, the use of the engine involved high payments to Ferrari.

In the 1992 season , Minardi competed with Lamborghini twelve-cylinder engines . For the first races of the year, Minardi converted three or four M191 chassis to accommodate the Lamborghini engine. They were given the designations M191B and M191L and served as transition vehicles until the completely newly developed M192 was ready for use.

production

Minardi built a total of six M191 chassis. However, only five of them were used in racing. The M191 / 2 chassis was not fully assembled.

Racing history

The M191 made its racing debut at the 1991 US Grand Prix . The US Grand Prix was held this year on the Phoenix Street Circuit in Phoenix , the capital of the US state of Arizona . The third and final Formula 1 championship race took place on the Phoenix Street Circuit in 1991. Two vehicles with starting numbers 23 and 24 were registered, driven by Pierluigi Martini and Gianni Morbidelli . A total of 34 reports were submitted, with four vehicles having to pre-qualify as only 30 were allowed to participate in the actual training. In qualifying training, the two Minardi drivers achieved positions 15 (Martini) and 26 (Morbidelli). Morbidelli was 1.3 seconds slower than his teammate. Both vehicles retired in the race. Morbidelli had a gearbox failure after 15 laps and Martini an engine failure after 75, but was classified ninth, six laps behind the winner Ayrton Senna in a McLaren MP4 / 6 .

In the second race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix , the Minardi started from 20th and 21st place on the grid. This time Morbidelli was just four tenths off his teammate. While Morbidelli finished eighth in the race, Martini retired after a spin.

At the Grand Prix of San Marino Minardi was finally able to show the potential of the racing car. After starting positions eight (Morbidelli) and nine (Martini), Martini finished fourth in the race and thus the best position of the year.

Despite some successes, the season fell far short of the expectations of the team leaders. The M191 turned out to be fast, but like many Minardi models of the years before, it was technically not fully developed. There were constant problems with the electronics. The biggest weak point, however, was the transmission, which Minardi had developed itself and which did not harmonize well with the Ferrari engines.

It was not until the Grand Prix of Portugal in September 1991 that Martini was able to achieve a top placement with another fourth place. At the end of the year, Minardi achieved seventh place in the constructors' championship, the best placing in this competition so far. However, the result of six points was sufficient for this.

Results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
Formula 1 World Championship 1991																		6th	7th
P. Martini	23	9	DNF	4th	12	7th	DNF	9	9	DNF	DNF	12	DNF	4th	13	DNF	DNF
G. Morbidelli	24	DNF	8th	DNF	DNF	DNF	7th	DNF	11	DNF	13	DNF	9	9	14th	DNF
R. Moreno																	16

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

literature

• Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. Cars, tracks and pilots. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
• David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars. Crowood Press, Marlborough 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English).
• David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. Chronosports, St. Sulpice 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French).
• Stefano Pasini: F1 Minardi Team. Ed. CELI Sport, Faenza 1991.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Entry list for the 1991 USA Grand Prix
2. ↑ Classification for the 1991 USA Grand Prix
3. ↑ Starting line-up for the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix
4. ↑ Classification for the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix
5. ↑ Gianni Morbidelli in the M191 at the Brazilian Grand Prix 1991  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
6. ↑ Final ranking of the 1991 San Marino Grand Prix
7. ↑ Final ranking at the Grand Prix of Portugal 1991