Gabriele Minì opened his F2 weekend at the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP with a performance that immediately signalled his intent. Even though Jak Crawford narrowly beat him to the top of the timesheets, Minì’s pace, consistency, and confidence set a strong tone for what promises to be a fiercely competitive finale. The PREMA Racing driver found himself at the sharp end of the timing screens throughout the Free Practice session, and despite the pressure of a closely packed field, he maintained control and composure.
A competitive but tricky first run
Right from the outset, Minì assessed the session with a blend of satisfaction and realism. He explained that his speed across various runs provided a welcome boost for both himself and the team.
“I think it was quite a strong session to be honest,” said Minì. “Pretty much every push lap we were in the top two. It’s very positive. We even managed to make a big change during the session and we were quite competitive, so overall it was quite a strong one.”
However, the PREMA driver did not overlook the more difficult aspects of the session. The early laps were far from straightforward, as the track conditions bordered on unpredictable. Dust and low grip meant drivers had to approach the opening stages with caution.
Minì described these challenges clearly: “It was quite poor grip because it was quite dirty at the beginning, so it wasn’t easy to keep it on track.”
Furthermore, the Italian noted that his first real attempt at a push lap proved more dramatic than ideal. Even so, he showed resilience by recovering quickly and adjusting as the surface evolved.
“On my first push lap, I got a really big snap in the first sector, so it wasn’t an ideal start. But in the end, the track rubbered up, and it became quite easier, but it was still tricky at the end.”
Expecting a Qualifying session defined by fine margins
As the weekend progresses, Minì fully expects the intense competitiveness of Free Practice to carry directly into Qualifying. Yas Marina is a circuit the teams know exceptionally well, thanks to repeated testing and previous season finales. With that familiarity comes the likelihood of extremely small gaps separating the field.
“I think it will be super tight,” said Minì on Qualifying. “Everybody knows this track, we tested here last year, so everybody knows it.”
In addition, he drew comparisons to another venue renowned for narrow margins and technical precision. His analogy captured the predictability—and difficulty—of racing on a well-known layout.
“It’s a bit like Barcelona, everyone is quite close, and everyone knows how everything works, so it will be very tight in Qualifying. But in the end, we are here to try and maximise what we have, so we will see.”
Adapting to tyre changes and evolving conditions
Beyond the closeness of the field, one of the biggest variables heading into Qualifying is the dramatic step in tyre performance. Moving from Medium tyres to the Supersoft compound will require rapid adaptation from both driver and engineers. Minì acknowledged the magnitude of that shift and hinted at how it might affect the team’s approach.
He explained: “It’s not going to be easy to get a good feeling for quali. We know that there is going to be a big step, we are talking about two or three seconds, so we need to take this position with a pinch of salt and then try to see.”
Given that time is limited between sessions, PREMA must work efficiently to be fully prepared. Minì emphasised the importance of data analysis and historical references, especially at a track with so much available information.
He detailed the team’s plan: “We will analyse the data, see what worked well, what didn’t, see what worked on the driving side in the previous years, and then adjust.”
Pole position the goal
Despite the challenges, Minì admitted that fighting for pole remains the ultimate goal, even if achieving that consistently across the season proved difficult. Nonetheless, the strong F2 Free Practice performance gives Minì and the team reason for optimism at the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP.
“It would be nice to be on pole in every round, not just at the end of the season, but sadly we couldn’t have that. But we look strong in FP, we know we need to work well now, because we don’t have a lot of time.
Finally, he stressed that the track will keep evolving throughout the evening, meaning both the driver and the engineers must stay sharp and responsive. He concluded with a practical, focused mindset: “There will be a lot of track improvements, so both me and the team, there will be a lot of work done. So we will just keep our head down and see how it goes.”
