The first point in its history, earned in 1988, brought a wave of cautious optimism to the Minardi team, as well as the first “check” from the FIA. Together with the confirmation of the “Lois” sponsorship for the 1989 season, this provided a degree of financial stability to the small team from Faenza. Both drivers were confirmed, experienced Italian Pierluigi Martini and Spaniard Luis Perez-Sala, and the team returned to using Pirelli tires, which supplied Minardi as one of their top teams. Thus began one of the best seasons in terms of performance for Gian Carlo Minardi’s team, which fielded the “B” evolution of the old M188 single-seater for the first three races, while waiting for the new Minardi M189.
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| MINARDI M189, Pierluigi Martini Phoenix, United States GP 1989 |
The new car, designed under the technical direction of Aldo Costa and supported by designers Nigel Cowperthwaite and Tommaso Carletti, featured a new carbon fiber monocoque chassis and suspension designed specifically to optimize the performance of the Italian tires. To resolve the chronic instability that plagued the previous car, the wheelbase was significantly increased from 2690 mm on the M188 to 2927 mm on the M189. With a narrower front and rear track, the new single-seater had a sleeker look. The nose was slightly bulkier, still equipped with a biplane wing, while the sidepods were notably shorter, more rounded, and featured a pronounced tapering at the rear. The engine cover was also significantly changed, with a classic air intake above the driver’s head replacing the side intakes used on the M188.
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| MINARDI M189, Luis-Perez Sala Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexican GP 1989 |
Unfortunately, the new M189 still had to use the old Ford-Cosworth DFZ engine, which was less powerful and heavier than the new DFR version. This prompted Gian Carlo Minardi to seek a more competitive power unit elsewhere. Minardi reached an agreement with Carlo Chiti for an engine developed by Motori Moderni and based on the 3500 cc Subaru 1235 flat-12 (Boxer) engine. This type of engine had been a hallmark of the Tuscan engineer in the 1970s, but the evolution of modern car aerodynamics, featuring rear diffusers to increase downforce, made the implementation challenging due to the lateral bulk of a flat-12 engine. Moreover, the engine weighed about 100 kg more than the traditional Ford-Cosworth DFZ and produced around 30 hp less. It was installed in the M188 and tested on track in August 1989 at the Misano circuit with Martini at the wheel, but serious issues from the very first run led to the project being immediately abandoned.
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| MINARDI M188B Subaru |
With the debut of the new M189 at the third race of the season in Mexico, both Martini and Sala immediately confirmed that the new car was a step forward compared to the past, although they still struggled with unpredictable tire performance. After some initial reliability issues, the first results came, with both cars scoring points in the British Grand Prix, the first and only time in the history of the Faenza-based team. Thanks to this result, Minardi managed to avoid the pre-qualifying sessions for the second half of the season, where they also showed good performance in qualifying. In Portugal, Martini qualified fifth and, for the only time in the team's history, briefly led a race, finishing fifth. In Jerez, Spain, the Romagna-born driver qualified fourth, but retired from the race after going off track. Upon returning to the paddock, he broke a rib after falling from the team truck. For the next round in Japan, he was replaced by rookie Italian driver Paolo Barilla, but he returned for the following race in Australia, where he qualified third and set the fastest time in Sunday morning’s warm-up.
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| MINARDI M189, Luis-Perez Sala Adelaide, Australian GP 1989 |
Unfortunately, the race was run in extremely wet conditions, and the wet-weather Pirelli tires proved inferior to Goodyear’s, forcing him to settle for sixth place. The 6 points scored in 1989 earned Minardi 11th place in the Constructors' Championship, one of the best results in the 21-year history of the small Italian team.
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