Better still to come, says Minardi boss

Minardi driver Fernando Alonso finished 11th in the season-closing Japanese Grand Prix while team-mate Alex Yoong was 16th after starting from the pit lane, due to an electrical fault.

"Today was a prelude of what is to come from European Minardi with a gutsy drive from Fernando to finish in a very creditable 11th place," said Stoddard, who bought the team just six weeks before the start of the season. "When you look at the machinery that finished behind him, you realise just how good a drive it was."

Alonso finished ahead of the Prost of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, both Arrows-AMTs, Olivier Panis' BAR-Honda and Giancarlo Fisichella's Benetton-Renault. But the increasingly competitive environment of F1 meant Minardi failed to add to the two points the team scored under its previous management in the last five years.

Stoddart also praised Yoong, who had his first Grand Prix finish in Japan, despite suffering from back cramp for much of the race.

"All of Malaysia has good reason to be proud of Alex's performances this season, and now he has the winter to work on his race fitness and build up those all-important testing miles. There's a lot better yet to come from him," he said.

"This has been a 'building' year for European Minardi, and having achieved our first-year goals, it's now onwards and upwards to 2002."

Alonso added: "I believe today I have driven my best race of this first season in Formula 1. I was aware I could count on a car that had proven to have strong potential throughout the weekend and I therefore pushed to the maximum from the very beginning of the race."

For full race results, click here.