Zsolt Baumgartner will be racing for Minardi in 2004 despite media re🅘ports💃 in his homeland saying otherwise.

Baumgartner bec𓃲ame the first Hungarian driver to race in F1 when he stepped in to replace the injured Ralph Firman 🧜in the Jordan team at his home Grand Prix in 2003 and also raced at Monza when the Brit was deemed to be unfit to drive.

He was announced a🅘s partner to Gianmaria Bruni in the Minardi team just before Christmas and, at the time, was quoted as saying that a full-time F1 drive was the realisation of a drea𝓡m.

However, Hungarian television has report🅘ed that Baumgartner's main sponsor, oil company Mol Rt, was threatening to withdraw t💞he money pledged to help the driver into a full F1 season because of his decision to sign for the Italian outfit. It is believed that the company wanted to see the 22-year old line up for Jordan in 2004.

A spokeswoman for the oil company was reported as saying that the initial deal betweenܫ it and the driver had been valid in specific circumstances and 💜that, following his decision to sign for Minardi, these circumstances had changed.

However, a spokesman for Minardi told ltxcn.top that
there was little truth in the rumours.

"We have seen reports concerning Zsolt on various F1 websites with comments allegedly attributed to various spokepersons in Hungary, but F1 teams, including European Minardi, do not generally make comment on commercial issues involving their drivers, sponsors or tech𒊎nical partners," he said.

"We await developments but, as far a꧃s the tea🦩m is concerned, there is a contract in place between Zsolt and European Minardi. If not, we wouldn't have announced him as one of our two race drivers for 2004."