. His Formula 3000 win in Hungary impressed Minardi principal
Paul Stoddart, who promised Friesacher a test with the Faenza team. The Austrian driver also had talks with
Jordan for a test in
Jerez. On 22 November 2004, Friesacher drove his first Formula One test for Minardi, running 41 laps at the
Misano circuit in
Italy. He was the fastest driver of the day, going over two seconds faster than second-placed
Tiago Monteiro. He also drove one of the team's two-seaters three days later. Friesacher's test performance convinced Stoddart to sign him, but the financial backing brought by the Austrian didn't seem to be enough for a seat. He then signed to become the team's third driver for the
2005 season, as
Nicolas Kiesa was slated to race alongside
Christijan Albers. However, Kiesa failed to raise the required sponsorship, and on 14 February 2005, Friesacher was announced as the titular driver. On 19 February 2005, Friesacher drove his first test session as Minardi's titular driver at
Imola. He completed 59 laps and was faster than his teammate Albers by 0.1 second. Due to a legal battle between Stoddart and the FIA regarding the use of the PS04B with 2004 specs, the team missed the Friday free practice sessions for the
Australian Grand Prix. Friesacher then drove a total 18 laps in the two Saturday Free Practice sessions, spinning off the wet track and with his best lap time being 4 seconds slower than his teammate. Unpredictable weather and track conditions meant some drivers couldn't set competitive times during both qualifying sessions. Friesacher started the race in 16th place, last among the drivers who set times at both sessions, but ahead of his teammate nonetheless. Friesacher was down to 19th after the start, with only Albers behind. By lap 14, Friesacher was already one lap behind the frontrunners. While being lapped by Coulthard, he made contact with the Red Bull and lost a piece of his car. He pitted following the incident, falling to last place. He remained at the back of the pack for the remainder of the race, finishing 17th following retirements, four laps behind winner Fisichella. Frisacher said he was happy to be able to finish the race.
ITV's
Martin Brundle noted during his debut race that he felt Friesacher had never looked like a potential F1 driver. In
Malaysia, Friesacher started at the back of the grid. He had a good start, overtaking Albers by lap 2, but spun off on oil left on track and was unable to continue. The following race at
Sakhir, Friesacher started behind Albers but finished in front of him as the Dutchman had to pit on the first lap to repair his nose. With the new
PS05 at
Imola, Friesacher retired after only eight laps due to a broken clutch shaft. Another retirement came in the following race in Spain, when he spun into a gravel trap on lap 13. At the
Monaco Grand Prix, Friesacher had his highest Formula One grid position at 13th place, setting faster times than Albers and both
Jordan drivers in qualifying, He was running in front of the other backmarkers on Sunday, but on lap 29 he lost control of the car and crashed at Nouvelle Chicane, effectively ending his race. Friesacher outqualified his teammate again at the
European Grand Prix, also starting in front of Jordan's
Karthikeyan. His race pace was lacking however, and he finished last, one lap behind Albers and three behind the leaders. He was behind Albers when he retired again in
Canada due to a power steering failure. At the infamous
United States Grand Prix, Friesacher picked up his only three
Formula One Championship points after coming sixth out of the six Bridgestone-equipped drivers who competed. He started the race at the back of the grid and did not pose a threat to his teammate, In
France, an 18th place start came to nothing as a puncture took him out of the race. The
British Grand Prix turned out to be Friesacher's final career Formula One race. He finished last, one lap behind his teammate and four laps behind the race winner Montoya. Due to a lack of payment from his sponsors, Friesacher was replaced in the lineup by
Robert Doornbos, who completed the rest of the season for Minardi. According to his then agent Thomas Frank, Friesacher declined an offer from
Coloni to race in the
2005 GP2 season.
Sponsorship controversy Friesacher's Minardi seat was primarily backed by unnamed sponsors, mediated by
Carinthia governor Jörg Haider, who agreed to pay US$2 million to Minardi. In return, the state's tourism board also featured its logos on the car. Days before the start of the season, however, the sponsorship money was not raised, putting Frisacher's seat in jeopardy. An
unsecured loan of US$500,000 by the state-owned
Hypo Alpe Adria helped secure his seat for the
Australian Grand Prix. On 19 July 2005, it was announced that Friesacher had been dropped from the Minardi team due to the failure of his personal sponsors to pay Minardi the amounts agreed at the start of the season. In 2013, during the trial of Haider's former personal assistant
Franz Koloini, it was revealed that the Hypo transfer of US$500,000 was made from an account in the name of Friesacher, without his signature and acknowledgement. That money was allegedly part of a US$1 million and €900,000 bribe from Russian businessmen to Haider, in order to obtain Austrian citizenship. ==A1GP commitments==