Minardi Lament Point-Less Race

Minardi team principal Paul Stoddart lamented Hungarian Zsolt Baumgartner was unable to score a point for the Anglo-Italian squad.

Baumgartner achieved his best Formula One result by finishing in ninth place in today's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Minardi driver, who was instructed to drive slowly to bring the car home, was just one position away from a points finish, despite crossing the chequered flag six laps behind race winner Jarno Trulli.

"Minardi knew today that if its cars finished this race, there was always going to be a chance of scoring points, and in the end, we were so, so near," said Stoddart. "After the incidents in the opening stages of the race, Zsolt was under instructions to drive a very conservative race and just bring the car home.

"With 37 laps to go and only 10 healthy cars running, we really felt a points finish was possible. Sadly, it was not to be, but Zsolt and the team did all that was asked of them today."