Gabriel Minì delivered at the F2 Belgian GP Sprint Race, fighting his way from eighth on the grid to claim his second podium of the season. The Italian’s impressive drive saw him make crucial decisions and execute clean overtakes to finish third behind race winner Leonardo Fornaroli and Victor Martins.
From P8 to P3: A measured drive
Starting from P8 due to a grid penalty carried over from qualifying, Minì had his work cut out for him on the challenging Belgian circuit. However, the young driver showed maturity beyond his years, making steady progress through the field whilst avoiding the various incidents that befell other championship contenders.
Key decisions
The key moment of Minì’s race came during the second safety car period on lap 12, when much of the field opted to switch to soft tyres following contact between Victor Martins and Amaury Cordeel. Minì made the calculated decision to remain on his medium compound tyres, a choice that would prove decisive in securing his podium position.
“Seeing what happened on the screens and also the number of cars that boxed, I just saw one in front. For me, it was quite clear to stay on track,” Minì explained post-race. “Also at the same time, when you see everyone behind boxing it is a bit tricky because I was almost the last on Prime in that moment.”
“I just stayed on track and I hoped for the best, in the end we were lucky that there was only one lap under the Safety Car, so the others had to do out push and without warming up the tyres. It is quite complicated.”
The gamble paid off handsomely. When racing resumed on lap 14, Minì capitalised on his track position and tyre advantage, moving past Ollie Goethe for third place down the Kemmel Straight. From there, he was able to hold off the soft-tyre runners who struggled to make significant gains on the leaders in the closing stages.
Bouncing back from disappointment in Silverstone
For Minì, the podium represented a welcome return to form after a disappointing weekend at Silverstone. The Italian celebrated his performance, particularly given the challenging circumstances he faced coming into the weekend.
“I am very happy, very proud, especially after a difficult round in Silverstone,” Minì said. “I am very happy to be back on the podium. He continued, “I think yesterday every lap we were within the Top 3, just missed out of the Top 3 in the end.”
“In the end, it was two tenths and just some traffic in the lap, not an ideal situation but still. The pace was much better than what it has been like in Silverstone and I think today we showed it.”
Maturity beyond his years
The rookie F2 driver’s approach to the race demonstrated a maturity that belied his experience level. Rather than attempting overly ambitious moves to make up for his grid penalty, Minì focused on executing a clean, measured drive that maximised his opportunities.
“The goal wasn’t really to make up the positions or do anything crazy, I think the goal is always to do the best thing possible,” he explained. “Get a good start, clean driving, clean overtaking without getting caught in some incidents or crashes. I think that is exactly what we did. We did it really well and pace helped us to do this.”
When Pit Debrief asked about Qualifying being quite tough but managing to pull through to a podium position, Minì acknowledged that starting from P8 meant he had measured his expectations. “Starting from P8 you never know what to expect as you saw there was quite a bit of degradation on the tyres overall let’s say, and so I think it plays a big role when it is about overtaking,” he noted.
“Once again the goal or let’s say they were not real expectation and just go into the race and try to adapt and see what you’ve got. As I said, we just did everything correctly to start the overtakes and the driving I think was also quite decent so I’m pretty satisfied with it.”
Sharing the podium with an inspiration
The podium ceremony proved particularly special for Minì, as he shared the rostrum with Victor Martins, a driver he long admired. When asked by Pit Debrief about racing against someone he looks up to, Minì’s enthusiasm was evident.
“Well it’s always really cool. I was trying to catch him a bit you know to try and fight, but I followed him from far away. It’s always fun you know, especially when you’re in the podium together,” Minì said. “I mean after Berlin [Formula E Rookie Test] sent me a message. I told him you know we both have to be on the podium I mean the goal was to be one two we are two three so still on the podium together I think it’s always to be racing someone that you looked up in the categories and say well he’s doing a really good job you know to try and beat him it’s really cool.”
Looking ahead, Minì remains grounded about his prospects whilst acknowledging there is still work to be done. “Still got some work to do to try and you know be on the top step of the podium but I think it’s a really good start,” he concluded.
