38614_6472.qxd:Layout 1 5/25/12 12:47 PM Page 69

Spo rts 69 Zio Ernesto “”

By Joey Franco Anelli Walking into Ernesto Anelli’s basement is any Ernesto. “They had the old way of doing things; very open, very nice... they were the last of the Mohicans.” lover’s dream. It’s a quasi-museum, The goal of the club was to let the Italians in Montreal know that there was filled with photographs, memorabilia, and mementos another Italian team in Formula One. During his tenure as Minardi club president, Ernesto came away with two important lessons. The first, though easy to root for of many years of walking down the F1 Paddocks. Zio winners, smaller teams were putting in the same efforts as the more competitive ones, Ernesto, as he is affectionately known by his friends, and deserved the same amount of support and respect. The second, Minardi had without a doubt the best espresso in Formula One! was bitten by the F1 bug at an early age. His father Ernesto was so well liked in Minardi circles that team founder and President Gianni was a journalist who grew up near the nicknamed him Ernesto “Minardi” Anelli. The Minardi club came to an end once the team was sold in 2005 to and circuit, just north of Milan where Ernesto was born. renamed . A few years later, a friend of Ernesto who used to be a team manager at Minardi, and later at Toro Rosso, was hired by Ferrari. Ernesto received a call is father continued his trade as a reporter after moving the family to Montreal. from him asking if he wanted to help the Ferrari team during the Canadian Grand Prix. H During the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix, Gianni asked then Minardi pilot Luigi “He called me up and said: ‘would you like to help us here?’ In my head I said Martini how he felt about participating in a race knowing that he not only wouldn’t why not. Who would refuse if Ferrari ever called? That’s the ultimate dream.” win, but that there was the possibility of not even qualifying for the start. With his So since 2010, Ernesto takes a week off from his job and becomes a member of eternal smile, he explained to Gianni the pleasure of driving in Formula One and what the most prestigious racing team in the world. His duties include driving pilots he felt when he entered the car. It was then that the idea to start a Minardi Montreal around, picking people up at the airport, and running errands for the team. He is the Fan Club came about. Gianni would become the founding president, and his son go-to-guy in Montreal for the Scuderia - a dream of many men. Ernesto would take over the following year. Looking back at his love affair with F1, Ernesto knows many things have “Minardi was one of the last teams where people were allowed to come and changed, and the sport will continue to evolve. As for the espresso, the best cup now go as they pleased. It was easier to go in and out of the team paddocks,” recalls belongs to Ferrari.