Memories of the Hungarian Gp ’94, Michele Alboreto just misses out on the Top-six

Michele Alboreto had the best result for the Minardi Team on the track in Budapest which this weekend will host the 12th round of the World Championship.

At the wheel of the M194 Minardi with the Ford HBC7/8 engine with team mate Pierluigi Martini, he was the protagonist of an important comeback. Taking off from twentieth place the driver from Milan cut the finish line in seventh place behind Ligier-Renault’s Olivier Panis and just missing out on the points zone. In those years only the first six drivers at the finish line were assigned points (from 10 to 1). The grand prix was won by Michael Schumacher driving the Benetton in front of Damon Hill in the Williams and Jos Verstappen (Benetton). The German went on to become World Champion with just a one point lead over the Englishman. In the constructors’’ championship the team from Faenza closed the season with five points and tenth place overall.

The following year the team founded by Gian Carlo Minardi finished once more in the top ten with Luca Badoer eighth (behind Jordan’s Rubens Barrichello) and Pedro Lamy ninth at the wheel of the M195, again with the Ford engine. Of the 24 starters only ten managed to reach the finish line with the Williams of Damon Hill and David Coulthard achieving a double in front of Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger with leader Michael Schumacher forced to retire with a breakdown of his Renault engine.

The biggest regret is tied to the 1993 edition with Pierluigi Minardi in the M193 (the first Minardi racing car equipped with active suspension and the first sequential gearbox with powered by a Ford engine that enjoyed low fuel consumption) who, as he was overtaking another car, ended up spinning neutralizing an important result.