Baumgartner joy after $4m backing
BUDAPEST, Hungary (Reuters) -- Hungarian driver Zsolt Baumgartner will sign a contract for the 2004 F1 season with Minardi after his government agreed to pay $4 million to back him.
"I have permission from Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart to announce that the contract will be signed on Tuesday," Baumgartner's manager Tamas Frank is quoted as saying.
The announcement came after sports minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said the government would contribute $4m towards the young Hungarian's sponsorship money.
Minardi's other driver is Italian rookie Gianmaria Bruni after the Italian team said last week that it had offered him a deal and it hoped to tie up a contract shortly.
Baumgartner, 22, the first Hungarian driver in the sport, made his debut at his home track on August 24, standing in for Jordan's injured Ralph Firman. His race ended with mechanical failure on lap 35.
Stoddart said last week: "His performance last year, when with very little notice he replaced Firman, impressed me greatly. We're all impatient to start the 2004 season with Zsolt."
At the next race, the Italian Grand Prix, he finished 11th after starting from 18th on the grid.
Drivers' personal sponsorship is commonplace in F1 with several teams in the championship struggling for adequate financing without it.
