Editing Minardi (section)

===Minardi, Scuderia Italia and Fondmetal (1994–2000)===
[[File:Pierluigi Martini 1994 Minardi.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pierluigi Martini]] driving for Minardi at the [[1994 British Grand Prix]]]]
[[File:Luca Badoer 1995 Britain.jpg|thumb|left|[[Luca Badoer]] driving for Minardi at the [[1995 British Grand Prix]]]]
[[File:Mazzacane en Minardi F1 2000.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gastón Mazzacane]] with the [[Minardi M02]]]]
As the number of small teams shrank, Minardi slipped from the mid-field towards the back of the grid. Money woes hit and in 1994 Minardi merged with [[BMS Scuderia Italia]] in an effort to survive. Giancarlo Minardi retained 14.5% with the remaining 85.5% distributed between the Scuderia Italia investors (Emilio Gnutti, Giuseppe Lucchini and Vittorio Palazzani) and Defendente Marniga. In 1994, Martini finished 5th at both the [[1994 Spanish Grand Prix]] and [[1994 French Grand Prix]], while [[Michele Alboreto]] scored his last point in Formula 1 with a 6th place in the [[1994 Monaco Grand Prix]]. Acknowledging that the team was struggling, [[Bernie Ecclestone]] spoke to [[Flavio Briatore]], who agreed to buy a share in the team in 1995. In 1996, Italian businessman Gabriele Rumi, former owner of the [[Fondmetal]] team switched his sponsorship support from [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]] to Minardi. He gradually increased his interest in the [[Faenza]] outfit, becoming co-owner and chairman. In 1997, Minardi teamed up with engine manufacturer [[Brian Hart]]. For the {{F1|2000}} season the team were forced to use 1998-spec [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] Zetec-R V10 engines, which were rebadged as Fondmetal engines in deference to his financial input. However, Rumi's poor health forced him to withdraw his backing at the end of the season.

Points were rare during this time; [[Pedro Lamy]] scored his one and only point in Formula 1 with a 6th place in the [[1995 Australian Grand Prix]]; this result was followed by a long barren spell until [[Marc Gené]] finished 6th in the [[1999 European Grand Prix]]. That same race, [[Luca Badoer]] had been running fourth until his gearbox failed with 13 laps to go, at which point the Italian burst into tears next to his stricken car. Other Minardi drivers also came close to scoring points, including [[Shinji Nakano]] who finished 7th at the [[1998 Canadian Grand Prix]] and [[Esteban Tuero]], who finished 8th at the [[1998 San Marino Grand Prix]].

Minardi was known for not using pay drivers, but for the 2000 season, the team signed Argentinian [[Gastón Mazzacane]], who only acquired the seat thanks to backing from the short-lived pay television channel Pan-American Sports Network.