Minardi Confident of Moving Forward

The Minardi team are confident of moving forward this season as a result of being able to spend more time in the development of the new PS02, which was officially unveiled in Malaysia on Friday.

Minardi, who have not scored any points since 1999, were saved last year by Australian Paul Stoddart and were able to make it to the first Grand Prix of the year without having tested their car.

But after securing financial backing and a deal to use Asiatech engines this season, technical director Gabriele Tredozi is confident they will be able to have a positive year.

The PS02 is the result of the work from the extensive experience of the team's new chief aerodynamicist, Loic Bigois, and his technical team, plus considerable time spent in the Fondmetal Technologies wind tunnel in Casumaro, near the team's Faenza headquarters.

"We are very pleased with the way the new car has come together," said Tredozi. "We are benefiting in particular from the fact that we have had ample 'lead-time' to work on the whole package.

"For example, we understood well what areas of last season's car we wanted to improve, we have known for some time what engine we are using, and we have been able to put in many useful hours in the wind tunnel developing the aerodynamic package for the PS02.

"As a result, we are far ahead of where we were at this time last year. Now, with an extensive pre-season testing programme planned as well, we believe we are well placed to make progress on the track this coming season."