It was initially driven by Brazilian Tarso Marques, who returned to the team after last driving an F1 car in 1997, and Fernando Alonso, a Spanish rookie who had graduated from Formula 3000 and was in a long-term contract to Flavio Briatore's driver management scheme.

The car was a tidy, efficient design by Gustav Brunner, but it was hamstrung by a lack of testing and horsepower from an elderly engine (which was badged "European", after Stoddart's aviation company).

The car was created by Austrian designer Gustav Brunner for the Italian Minardi team in Faenza during the 2001 season of the Formula One motor racing World Championship.

[4] Stoddart hoped Minardi would secure tenth place or higher in the Constructors' Championship and stated he had a five-year plan to get the team running in the mid-field.

[15] Marques and Alonso started twentieth and twenty-first on the grid as Arrows driver Enrique Bernoldi was sent to the rear of the field for running his front wing too low to the ground.

[16] In the race, which was held in mixed weather conditions, both drivers achieved the Minardi PS01's first double finish, with Alonso and Marques finishing in thirteenth and fourteenth positions respectively; Marques had a punctured right-rear tyre which damaged his rear wing and the Minardi team lost communication with both drivers and personnel when a torrential downpour hit the circuit and damaged their equipment early in the race.

[17][18] At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Alonso qualified in nineteenth position, ahead of Jenson Button and Gastón Mazzacane, with Marques starting at the rear of the field in twenty-second.

[19] During the race, Marques achieved the best result for the PS01 with ninth place, whilst Alonso retired after completing twenty-six laps with an issue with his throttle potentiometer which affected his engine's behaviour.

[20] At the San Marino round, Alonso started in eighteenth, ahead of both Benetton cars and Mazzacane, whilst Marques qualified twenty-second for the second consecutive Grand Prix.

[24] Two weeks later in the Austrian Grand Prix Alonso clinched his third consecutive eighteenth position in qualifying whilst Marques set the twenty-second fastest time and was separated by both Benetton cars and Jean Alesi in a Prost.

[25] Alonso continued his good form in qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix where he took eighteenth place whilst Marques in twenty-second was behind the Arrows pairing of Jos Verstappen and Bernoldi as well as Luciano Burti's Prost.

[30] Marques retired after completing seven laps from a voltage fluctuation in his electronics system which broke his gearbox and shut down his engine, whilst Alonso moved from twenty-first to finish fourteenth.

[37] For the race both drivers started from the pit lane because of technical difficulties; the Grand Prix was halted on the first lap because of a major accident involving Burti and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.

Alonso retired from the race after two and a half laps because of gear selection problems whilst Marques finished in fourteenth place despite encountering suspension issues and a punctured tyre.