Revision [122]
Last edited on 2009-11-27 04:25:04 by StanBAdditions:
But let's have a look into Gastón's career before he made it into F1 in 2000. As with so many drivers he started his career with karting. He was quite good at it, won some races and regional championships and moved onto touring cars and South American F3. With three pole positions and five wins in his first year it was time for him to try his luck across the Atlantic. It was 1994 when he became Italian F2000 champion and did some testing in International F3000. He raced in F3000 (with Astromega and Team Autosport) for three years (96-98) until [[MinardiGianCarlo Gian Carlo Minardi]] and [[RumiGabriele Gabriele Rumi]] appointed him as Minardi's "third" driver in 1999. Gastón's backer PSN (Pan American Sportsnetwork; an Hispanic, Miami-based 24 hour sports TV-station focussing on Latin American countries) brought in some cash and suddenly Gastón found himself in Minardi's [[M02]] teaming-up with [[GeneMarc Marc Gene]].
Yet another "paydriver" was what most people thought. Still Gastón made some eat their words when he came in 12th for the very first practice session at the Australian GP in Melbourne ahead of both Heidfeld and Button. Unfortunately he wasn't able to keep up this performance during qualifying where he was outpaced by his team-mate Marc Gene (who, by that time, already had a full F1 season under his belt) and occupied the infamous 22nd spot on the grid. On race day Mazzacane also did a very good job until he had to leave the race with flames shooting out of his [[M02]]. The rest of the season was typical of a number two driver at Minardi, not very spectacular. However Gastón Mazzacane proved to be worth his seat. Out of 17 races he finished 12. He brought the car to the finish line in spite of severe gearbox problems from time to time. Still, he wasn't very popular in the paddock because he blocked lapping drivers every now and then. ""McLaren""'s David Coulthard and Ron Dennis slated Mazzacane for being a "mobile road block" after the Hungarian GP. The Minardi team reacted and sent out a press release. It revealed that DC didn't lose any time while lapping Mazzacane during the race. ""McLaren"" didn't complain about blocking after this incident.
Gastón's supreme moment was at the very first US GP at Indianapolis. In the changing conditions Gastón suddenly found himself in 3rd position with Mika Hakkinen behind. Hakkinen was still fighting for the 2000 championship and was trying hard to pass Mazzacane. But the double world champion had no chance to pass the Argentine until he went in for his pitstop. Mazzacane retired later in the race with engine problems. Pictures that showed a devastated ""McLaren"" fan throwing a can of beer from the grandstand onto Mazzacane's retired [[M02]] went around the world.
Yet another "paydriver" was what most people thought. Still Gastón made some eat their words when he came in 12th for the very first practice session at the Australian GP in Melbourne ahead of both Heidfeld and Button. Unfortunately he wasn't able to keep up this performance during qualifying where he was outpaced by his team-mate Marc Gene (who, by that time, already had a full F1 season under his belt) and occupied the infamous 22nd spot on the grid. On race day Mazzacane also did a very good job until he had to leave the race with flames shooting out of his [[M02]]. The rest of the season was typical of a number two driver at Minardi, not very spectacular. However Gastón Mazzacane proved to be worth his seat. Out of 17 races he finished 12. He brought the car to the finish line in spite of severe gearbox problems from time to time. Still, he wasn't very popular in the paddock because he blocked lapping drivers every now and then. ""McLaren""'s David Coulthard and Ron Dennis slated Mazzacane for being a "mobile road block" after the Hungarian GP. The Minardi team reacted and sent out a press release. It revealed that DC didn't lose any time while lapping Mazzacane during the race. ""McLaren"" didn't complain about blocking after this incident.
Gastón's supreme moment was at the very first US GP at Indianapolis. In the changing conditions Gastón suddenly found himself in 3rd position with Mika Hakkinen behind. Hakkinen was still fighting for the 2000 championship and was trying hard to pass Mazzacane. But the double world champion had no chance to pass the Argentine until he went in for his pitstop. Mazzacane retired later in the race with engine problems. Pictures that showed a devastated ""McLaren"" fan throwing a can of beer from the grandstand onto Mazzacane's retired [[M02]] went around the world.
Deletions:
Yet another "paydriver" was what most people thought. Still Gastón made some eat their words when he came in 12th for the very first practice session at the Australian GP in Melbourne ahead of both Heidfeld and Button. Unfortunately he wasn't able to keep up this performance during qualifying where he was outpaced by his team-mate Marc Gene (who, by that time, already had a full F1 season under his belt) and occupied the infamous 22nd spot on the grid. On race day Mazzacane also did a very good job until he had to leave the race with flames shooting out of his M02. The rest of the season was typical of a number two driver at Minardi, not very spectacular. However Gastón Mazzacane proved to be worth his seat. Out of 17 races he finished 12. He brought the car to the finish line in spite of severe gearbox problems from time to time. Still, he wasn't very popular in the paddock because he blocked lapping drivers every now and then. ""McLaren""'s David Coulthard and Ron Dennis slated Mazzacane for being a "mobile road block" after the Hungarian GP. The Minardi team reacted and sent out a press release. It revealed that DC didn't lose any time while lapping Mazzacane during the race. ""McLaren"" didn't complain about blocking after this incident.
Gastón's supreme moment was at the very first US GP at Indianapolis. In the changing conditions Gastón suddenly found himself in 3rd position with Mika Hakkinen behind. Hakkinen was still fighting for the 2000 championship and was trying hard to pass Mazzacane. But the double world champion had no chance to pass the Argentine until he went in for his pitstop. Mazzacane retired later in the race with engine problems. Pictures that showed a devastated ""McLaren"" fan throwing a can of beer from the grandstand onto Mazzacane's retired M02 went around the world.
Revision [99]
Edited on 2009-11-25 11:47:17 by ForzaMinardiAdditions:
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