Marques joins Minardi

BRAZILIAN 20-year-old Tarso Marques is set to join the Minardi team in Brazil and Argentina. Marques will replace Giancarlo Fisichella who raced for the team in Melbourne, standing in for Japan's Taki Inoue who is having difficulty raising the money he needs to secure the drive. Inoue lost his Unimat sponsorship without warning just before the seasonÊbegan.

Marques - who is a prot?g? of Minardi team manager Frederic Dhainaut - tested for the Minardi team at Fiorano in December and impressed team boss Giancarlo Minardi with his speed. He was passed over for the drive this year because Inoue promised to bring more money to the team.

Marques's deal is for just the two South American races, but if Inoue fails to come up with the finance necessary it is quite likely that the young Brazilian could be kept on for the rest of the year.

If he qualifies, Marques will be the youngest man to race in F1 since Mike Thackwell drove a Tyrrell in Canada in 1980.