 Minardi Fail to Secure Leinders a License Friday March 5th, 2004 Minardi test driver Bas Leinders was ruled out of Australian Grand Prix practice on Friday after Formula One's governing body rejected his request for a super licence. A team spokesman said the 28-year-old Belgian would return to Europe immediately for the necessary 300 km of testing before rejoining the tail-end team for the Malaysian Grand Prix on March 21. Under new rules, all but the top four teams are allowed to run a third car in Friday practice providing the driver has a super licence and has not competed in six or more grands prix over the previous two years. Leinders has raced in the junior Nissan world series for the past two years after three seasons in Formula 3000, a grand prix support series, but he has little experience of driving Formula One cars. He tested with Jordan in Spain earlier this year but crashed the car on his first lap out of the pits. "Basically he didn't have the necessary mileage in championships that the FIA recognises," said a Minardi spokesman. Leinders secured a deal as Minardi's official test driver only this week and Australian-born team boss Paul Stoddart warned on Wednesday that the licence was a problem.
Published at 00:52:20 GMT
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