Non-sponsor Minardi (John Walton)

[TopGearNL]

John Walton was Minardi's F1 Sporting Director and because this happened the Minardi had no sponsors on its body if you noticed and it said John Walton on various places (bottom post)

I translated this from dutch for you:
(09 July 2004) Minardi’s Sporting Director John Walton was this afternoon struck by a heart-attack. In critical, yet not too bad condition he was checked into the hospital. Team manager Paul Stoddart had said that John Walton was't feeling good earlier that week, on Thursday evening he was in very bad and poor condition. It may be clear therefore that we are all deeply shocked with this accuring. Our thought our therefore with his family all weekend.

[No.1]

He has now died.... before the race and qualifying it think.

The team is like a family who need to support each other, unlike the clinical nature with McLaren and BMW who have no emotions.

It was a fitting tribute to the man, a nice way to remember him

[TopGearNL]

I think that this is also the main reason why Jean Maria Bruni's pitstop went very wrong and bad, because the men from Minardi weren't there with there minds at the time