JANUARY 26, 1998
The new Minardi runs at Mugello
THE new Minardi-Ford M198 ran for the first time last week at Ferrari's Mugello test track near Florence, in Italy, with Argentina's new rising star Esteban Tuero at the wheel.
The team is unlikely to reveal its full package of sponsorship until the end of February and this will largely depend on who gets the second seat in the team, alongside Tuero.
Last week the team announced that it had been forced to release Tarso Marques from his long-term Minardi contract, the implication being that a driver with either more experience or more money has been found. The names currently being linked with the team include Jos Verstappen, Tom Kristensen, Shinji Nakano and Laurent Redon.