source: dailyf1.com
- Nick Raman
Reports indicate
the 2001 F3000 Champion Justin Wilson is close to a race drive with Minardi team
next season, but as with other opportunities in his career, the appointment will
depend on whether engineers can accommodate his lofty frame in the car.
Wilson travelled to Minardi's Italian base in Faenza on the weekend for
a seat fitting. Wilson, at 190 centimetres, is significantly taller than any
current Grand Prix driver and requires a special survival cell design for him to
fit comfortably in the chassis and within the regulations. It is also important
for him to be sitting as low as possible so the inlet to the engine airbox is
not blocked by his helmet.
Minardi personnel
will now analyse the situation and discuss building a larger cell for the PS02,
a developed version of which will be raced by the team in the first few races of
next season before the new PS03 is delivered at San Marino.
Wilson had
impressed Stoddart earlier this year in a test for the team and was close to
taking Alex Yoong's place in Hungary and Belgium but was ruled out because
Minardi would have had to build a bigger car, an unjustifiably expensive
exercise for just two races.
But Stoddart said at the time that he would
accommodate Wilson in the future.
'We would build a car next year that
would most definitely accommodate a driver of Justin's physique,' the Australian
said. 'He has done enough with the team to impress us and he deserves another
chance.'