Ex-F1 team owner Giancarlo Minardi has been appointed to front the FIA’s single-seater commission.
The FIA’s single-seater commission oversees the junior categories below Formula 1, most notably Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 4 and Formula Regional.
Minardi success ex-Force India boss Bob Fernley in the position, which has previously been filled by Gerhard Berger and now F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
Minardi ran his own Formula 2 team in the 1980s before stepping up to Formula 1 in 1985, establishing his squad as a respectable backmarker outfit in an era where teams swiftly arrived and departed.
Minardi eventually sold up to Australian businessman Paul Stoddart in 2001 before the team morphed into Toro Rosso following Red Bull’s acquisition in 2005.
It still operates out of Minardi’s base in Faenza, Italy, and competes as Red Bull’s fashion brand AlphaTauri.
The 74-year-old has also been the President of Emilia Romagna GP host circuit Imola since 2020.
“I warmly welcome the election of Giancarlo Minardi as FIA Single-Seater Commission President,” said FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“He is a major figure in motor sport. I look forward to working with him to further develop the Single-Seater pyramid around the world.”
This is outstanding news. What Minardi represents is a rare and precious thing these days. They went racing not for global marketing, not for corporate BS reasons – they went racing because that’s just what they did. It was in their blood and they loved it.
While they never achieved the same level of success, Giancarlo Minardi is very much like Frank Williams.
And I’d be remiss if I left out what Jim Glickenhaus is doing at LeMans.
That fire. That spirit. That pure passion for racing.
It must never die.