Minardi's desperate fortnight continued during the♊ Italian Gr𒀰and Prix, with a pit-lane fire adding to the two incidents in which Zsolt Baumgartner was caught up in other people's accidents.

This time, the Hungarian was not involved, as team-mate Gianmaria Bruni's car 🍰erupted in flames after a fuel leak caught light during his second stop. Mercifully, the conflagration did not result in any serious injuries to team personnel, but did bring the race to a premature conclusion for the Italian, who experienced breathing difficulties after inhaling fumes and extinguisher powder during the stop.

"It seems a small amount of petr🔥ol leaked out, and when it hit the hot parts of the car, there was instantly a fire," Bruni said, "Fortunately, it was extinguished immediately, but some of the fire retardant got into my helmet and I couldn't breathe properly. I'm fine now, but it's really a pity for the guys, as the car was good and I think we could have a solid finish today."

The incident added t💛o the repair bill already rackedꦉ up when Baumgartner's misfortune continued with a high-speed collision in free practice on Saturday morning. As with his Belgian GP exit, the Hungarian was not to blame, after his car was harpooned - and written off - by an out-of-control Giorgio Pantano.

"Whoever thinks F꧒1 is boring wasn't around the Minardi garage this afternoon when Gimmi's car erupted into flames," team boss Paul Stoddart said, "The mechanics did a fantastic job to extinguish the flames immediately, but unfortunately, Gimmi inhaled some of the🐓 fumes.

"I cannot thank the guys enough for their thoroughly professional behavi🍨our and quick reactions that undoubtedly helped to avert wh📖at could have been a major incident. As for the fire itself, the team is still investigating the cause of the fuel leak in order to understand exactly what happened."