The 2004 championship ended with just one point in the Constructors’ standings, a rare event for the Minardi team, usually accustomed to a disheartening zero, bringing a wave of optimism to Faenza, in the province of Ravenna, the historic home of the small Romagna-based team. Since Paul Stoddart joined the team’s ownership, this was the second point scored, following the one achieved by Webber at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. For the 2005 season, the design of an entirely new car was planned: the Minardi PS05. It was a car based on a completely new design philosophy, conceived specifically to be fitted with the new Cosworth TJ2005 engine.
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| MINARDI PS05, Chanoch Nissany Hungaroring, Hungarian GP 2005 |
After Ford sold Cosworth to Champ Car series owners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, the British engine manufacturer continued throughout 2005 to officially supply engines to both the former Jaguar Racing team (from 2005 known as Red Bull Racing) and to the small Minardi team, which could finally use a somewhat “modern” power unit, even if still far from the performance of the top V10 engines. The engine powering the PS05 was the Cosworth TJ2005 Series 10, featuring aluminum block and heads, aluminum alloy pistons, and a steel crankshaft. With a displacement of 2998 cc, it produced 860 hp at 18,300 rpm, about 60 hp more than the previous CR-3L engine used in the PS4 during 2004. The PS05 was designed under the direction of Technical Director Gabriele Tredozi, with the collaboration of Sandro Parini (Chief Designer) and Andrea Rocchetto (Chief Aerodynamicist). It was the last Formula 1 car developed by Minardi before the team was sold and became Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006, a satellite team of Red Bull Racing.
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| MINARDI PS05, Robert Doornbos Monza, Italian GP 2005 |
The new Minardi PS05 was unveiled for the first time at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit in Imola, during the San Marino Grand Prix, after the first races of the season had been contested with the old PS04B. The new car was the first entirely new design in several years for Minardi, a team perpetually short on funds. It represented a radical evolution from previous models, with a relatively advanced aerodynamic approach. Development of the car was rather complex but demonstrated the Faenza team’s ability to design competitive cars on a limited budget. The nose was slimmer, featuring a spoon-shaped front wing; the sidepods were deeply sculpted and tapered towards the rear, and the curvy bodywork incorporated several aerodynamic innovations aimed at increasing downforce, reducing drag, and working in harmony with the 2005 wing and diffuser regulations. Towards the end of the season, a multi-element front wing was introduced, a novelty in Formula 1 at the time, shared only with Renault and Jordan, and later adopted by most teams before the decade’s end. The PS05 was entrusted to two rookie drivers: Dutchman Christijan Albers and Austrian Patrick Friesacher, who raced until the British Grand Prix, after which Friesacher was replaced by another Dutchman, Robert Doornbos, starting from the German Grand Prix. Two other Formula 1 debutants also had the opportunity to drive the PS05 during Friday practice sessions: Israeli driver Chanoch Nissany at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and Italian Enrico Toccacelo at the Turkish, Italian, and Belgian Grands Prix.
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| MINARDI PS05, Robert Doornbos Interlagos, Brazilian GP 2005 |
Despite expectations, the PS05’s performance was very disappointing; at its debut in Imola, it lapped on average six seconds slower than the front-runners and about one second slower than the backmarkers. Although both drivers complained of a lack of grip, team owner Paul Stoddart remained optimistic, seeing some potential for the future. Throughout the season, however, the Minardis stayed at the back of the grid, constantly battling the Jordans just to secure the penultimate row. Only once did the PS05 qualify ahead of a team other than Jordan, in Montréal for the Canadian Grand Prix, where Albers set a time 0.03 seconds faster than Christian Klien’s Red Bull, earning 15th place. In the race, the car’s decent reliability allowed the team to achieve some respectable results, such as in Belgium, where Albers and Doornbos finished 12th and 13th, a result Doornbos replicated in both Germany and Turkey.
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| MINARDI PS05, Robert Doornbos Monza, Italian GP 2005 |
Despite the solid reliability of the Cosworth V10, none of the season’s retirements were engine-related, the PS05 suffered from electronic and hydraulic issues, causing seven retirements throughout the year. Thanks to the double points finish (the second in Minardi’s history) at the United States Grand Prix, which, however, was contested by only six cars, Minardi ended the season with seven points, though once again at the bottom of the standings. After twenty years in Formula 1, Minardi competed in its final Grand Prix in China, concluding two decades in F1 with 340 races, 38 points scored, and no podium finishes, yet earning a reputation as one of the most important teams for young drivers, including, above all, two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso.
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