JUNE 7, 2001

Morbidelli not up for Minardi

ITALIAN racer Gianni Morbidelli has denied claims that he will replace Tarso Marques at Minardi after rumors that the Brazilian driver is out of favor with the team.

Morbidelli was favorite for the seat at the start of the season, but just lost out to Marques and says that he has not been contacted by the team since then.

"To be honest people speak of my name but there has been no call from Minardi," said Morbidelli.

"At the beginning of the season it was quite close and now I believe the situation concerning Tarso is not fantastic.

"In Monaco I spoke with (Giancarlo) Minardi, but just as a normal friend. We have been good friends for many years.

"But he said nothing about the situation with Tarso. We talked about many things but nothing concerning this."