Minardi PS03

The PS03 was the third Minardi car to be created under the influence of Paul Stoddart and he wanted it to be a regular point scorer. Justin Wilson and Jos Verstappen were the drivers, with Nicolas Kiesa as the test driver. The highlight of the season for the team was Verstappen's fastest time on Friday at Magny Cours, however this was only because it rained. Surprisingly, even though the team had many retirements; Wilson only finishing 2 of his first 8 races, the Cosworth engines were reliable, they never caused the driver to retire. What caused Wilson to retire these 6 times was; 3 holed radiators, physical issues and a recurring refuelling glitch.

One of the main problems Minardi always had with the car was the lack of wind-tunnel testing, only managing 12 days in the Fondmetal windtunnel.

Pre-season issues

At first the team appeared to have no sponsors, engines or tyres. Michelin had pulled out of the team leaving Minardi to run some pre-season tests on Avon tyres. Asiatech engines were gone, as was the previous year's sponsorship from Kuala Lumpur due to Alex Yoong's departure to Champ Car. This left Minardi in some serious problems. Eventually Bridgestone agreed to make the tyres, and with the help of new driver Jos Verstappen they managed to get sponsorship from Trust. European Aviation, (Stoddart's own company) put up sponsorship as did various other small companies for small sums of money, including Gazprom, who reportedly did not pay. After snubbing a Ferrari engine deal, Minardi also managed to get Cosworth engines, old 72 degree V10's, un-tuned and similar to those being used in the Jordan of that season but these were slightly longer. There was initially no title sponsor until the Dutch company Trust joined the team for the 2003 Monaco Grand Prix and thus competing the Juventus-inspired white and black livery.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
2003	European Minardi Cosworth	Cosworth V10	B		AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	ITA	USA	JPN	0	10th
				Justin Wilson	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	13	Ret	Ret	13	14	16
				Nicolas Kiesa												12	13	12	11	16
				Jos Verstappen	11	13	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	9	14	16	15	Ret	12	Ret	10	15

References

Henry, Alan (ed.) (2003). AUTOCOURSE 2003-2004. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. pp. 80–81. ISBN 1-903135-20-6.

Minardi F1 Team

Founder: Giancarlo Minardi

Owners: Flavio Briatore (1996); Gabriele Rumi (1996–2000); Paul Stoddart (2001–2005)

Personnel: Andy Bendell; Gustav Brunner; Giacomo Caliri; Aldo Costa; Gabriele Tredozi

Notable drivers (See all): Christijan Albers; Michele Alboreto; Luca Badoer; Zsolt Baumgartner; Gianmaria Bruni; Adrián Campos; Andrea de Cesaris; Anthony Davidson; Christian Fittipaldi; Marc Gené; Pedro Lamy; Tarso Marques; Pierluigi Martini; Gianni Morbidelli; Roberto Moreno; Luis Pérez-Sala; Jos Verstappen; Justin Wilson; Alex Yoong; Alessandro Zanardi

Notable rookies: Alessandro Nannini; Giancarlo Fisichella; Jarno Trulli; Fernando Alonso; Mark Webber

Formula One cars: M185; M185B; M186; M187; M188; M188B; M189; M190; M191; M191B; M192; M193; M193B; M194; M195; M195B; M197; M198; M01; M02; PS01; PS02; PS03; PS04; PS04B; PS05

Cars that competed in the 2003 Formula One season

Ferrari F2002 Ferrari F2003-GA Williams FW25 McLaren MP4-17D Renault R23 Renault R23B Sauber C22 Jordan EJ13 Jaguar R4 BAR 005 Minardi PS03 Toyota TF103

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