FONDMETAL - FORMULA 1 PRIVATE COLLECTION - AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS - The most important directory of museums and collections dedicated to vehicles

FONDMETAL - FORMULA 1 PRIVATE COLLECTION

The story begins in Palosco, a small town in the province of Bergamo (northern Italy), headquarters of Fondmetal, a historic manufacturer of alloy wheels for cars.

But Fondmetal is not just alloy wheels, has had an interesting history in Formula 1, first as a supplier and then as a constructor team from 1990 to 1992, as well as becoming majority shareholder of Scuderia Minardi F1 in 1997 and then selling it in 2001.

Fondmetal from 1986 to 1992 became the official supplier of the Williams F1 team, and the first company in 1993 to present the magnesium monoblock wheel, always for the Formula 1 world championship.

In the company headquarters you can still admire the F1 cars that made Fondmetal history, all perfectly preserved in special glass boxes.

It begins with the FA1M inherited from Osella, which Gabriele Rumi (owner of Fondmetal) had recently taken over. Then we find the beautiful Fomet 1 by Robin Herd, with Ford Cosworth Hart engine. After the Fomet 1, here is the GR01, GR like the initials of Gabriele Rumi.

Then the Fondmetal GR02, a beautiful single-seater, signed by Eng. Sergio Rinland, decreed by many magazines among the most beautiful Formula 1 of those times.

On display you can also admire the Fondmetal Minardi that animated the Formula 1 of the 90s, until 2001. We find the M197, the M198, the M01 and the M02. There are even two Tyrrells, the 022 and the 023 which were the first cars developed in the Fondmetal Technologies Wind Tunnel, which was based in Casumaro in the province of Ferrara.

In 1993 from the collaboration between Gabriele Rumi and the well-known aerodynamic engineer Jean-Claude Migeot, the first aerodynamic research and consultancy center for racing cars and wind tunnel tests in Italy was born, which will have important customers such as Renault, Toyota, Tyrrell, Benetton, Force India and Lotus.

We continue with Gustav Brunner's Minardi M01, which was once owned by Luca Badoer. The latest on display is the 2000 Minardi M02, designed by Gustav Brunner and driven by Gaston Mazzacane and Marc Gené.