Despite taking second place at the 2026 Barcelona F2 Sprint Race, MP Motorsport’s Gabriele Minì continues to place consistency and maximising every available opportunity above the early championship picture.
The MP Motorsport driver started fifth before moving past Rafael Villagómez, Colton Herta, Noel León and Nikola Tsolov during a measured recovery drive. Although Kush Maini had already established an unassailable advantage at the front, Minì secured his fifth podium from six races and strengthened his position at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.
His drive combined decisive overtaking with careful tyre management. In particular, Minì resisted the temptation to remain too close to Tsolov during the middle phase of the race, instead creating enough space to preserve his tyres before mounting another attack.
During the post-Sprint Race press conference attended by Pit Debrief, the Italian reflected on his approach to the Sprint, his developing rivalry with Tsolov, the progress he has made since joining MP Motorsport and his expectations for the Barcelona Feature Race.
Minì pleased with another strong Barcelona recovery
Minì made immediate progress after the start and quickly placed himself within reach of the leading group. He overtook Villagómez and Herta around the outside before closing on León. Once he cleared the Campos Racing driver, he turned his attention towards Tsolov, who occupied second place behind Maini.
However, Minì recognised that attacking too early could compromise the condition of his tyres. He initially reduced the gap, then backed away before returning to the fight later in the race.
That decision allowed him to pass Tsolov and secure second place. Although Herta closed rapidly during the final laps, Minì maintained enough pace to protect the position and complete another successful weekend result.
“Yeah, it was a very good race. Another podium, so it’s five in the last six races, which is very positive. Today was, I think, really what we needed. Got a good start, some really nice overtakes around the outside of Villagómez and then Herta. Then, with strong pace, we managed to overtake León. We had good tyre degradation, so it was better than the others.
“At first, I tried to catch Nikola. I figured it was a bit too early, so I backed out a bit, and then I pushed towards the end to catch him again, and that worked very well. At the end, Colton was coming very quick, but we still managed to hold on to P2.”
Minì’s racecraft not altered by 2026 F2 Drivers’ Championship lead
Minì’s fight with Tsolov carried additional significance because the pair occupied the leading positions in the Drivers’ Championship.
By finishing ahead of the Bulgarian, Minì gained two additional points relative to his closest rival and increased his advantage at the top of the standings. Nevertheless, he insisted that the title picture did not influence the way he approached the overtake.
Instead, Minì viewed the situation solely in terms of maximising the result available on the day. He did not treat Tsolov differently because of their Championship positions and maintained that the season remained too young for him to alter his racecraft around the standings.
The MP Motorsport driver also accepted that second represented the best achievable result after Maini controlled the race from the front.
“I mean, you know that, at the moment, we are at the front of the Championship for sure. But as I said so many times, I really don’t care. In a way, I’m not looking at that. For me, it’s two points gained if I would have overtaken him; it’s two points lost if not. So that’s the only thing that was going through my mind.
“In the end, I feel like P2 was the maximum we could have achieved. As I said many times, the goal is always to try and achieve the maximum possible. So, I didn’t see him as, ‘Okay, he’s P2 in the Championship and you’d overtake him to keep the lead’, because I don’t think there is any point to look at that so early on in the season.”
Minì expects a wider F2 title battle
Although Minì and Tsolov have established themselves at the front of the standings, Minì does not expect the Championship to develop into an exclusive contest between the pair.
Several drivers have already featured regularly near the front, while small differences in performance, strategy or reliability can create significant points swings across a race weekend.
Minì specifically identified Dino Beganovic, Alex Dunne, Rafael Câmara and León as drivers who remain capable of joining the title fight. Therefore, he believes neither he nor Tsolov can discount any regular top-10 contender at this stage.
While he wants to continue increasing his points total, he also understands that the current order may change considerably as the season progresses.
“Yeah, I mean, as Nikola said, there are so many drivers that are probably going to be fighting for the Championship. We already see, always, about, you know, six drivers always within the top ten and always fighting. We have Dino, Alex, Rafa, Nikola, Noel and, you know, everyone. There’s not really one that you can take away, especially at this stage of the Championship.
“But, of course, for us two, the goal is to keep fighting. At the moment, as has been mentioned before, we have a good amount of points for being after four rounds. And, I mean, we’ll try for sure to always keep on increasing this gap and our points in general. So, once again, it’s really early on, but we’ll try to keep fighting to the end.”
Shared Alpine history shapes Minì’s view of Tsolov
Minì and Tsolov know each other well from their time within the Alpine Academy structure. Although they spent several years connected to the same programme, they did not always race directly against one another. The 2026 F2 season, therefore, represents their first sustained head-to-head battle for the same Championship.
That familiarity gives Minì a detailed understanding of Tsolov’s ability. He highlighted the Campos Racing driver’s outright speed and strong Qualifying performances as two of his most important strengths.
At the same time, Minì believes their shared history has allowed him to recognise areas that he could potentially exploit. He intends to use that knowledge competitively while maintaining his focus on his own performance.
“Yeah, as you said, we have always been together in Alpine quite a lot. I mean, all three of us, really. Me, Nikola and Kush. And so I know Nikola very well. We have not raced every year, though; together, every year we’ve been in Alpine. So this is the first time we really have a direct fight for a Championship,” he said in response to a question from Pit Debrief.
“And, I mean, I know his strengths. As I mentioned before, he’s a really quick driver. And, I mean, we can see from his Quali performance in general. So, once again, I know his strengths. I also think I know a bit his weaker points. So that’s what I have to try and, in a way, use to my advantage.”
Tyre management proves decisive in the fight for second in the 2026 Barcelona F2 Sprint Race
Barcelona’s high tyre degradation made clean air particularly valuable during the Sprint Race. Drivers who followed another car closely risked overheating their tyres or collecting dirt away from the racing line. As a result, a poorly timed attack could cost more time over the following laps than it gained initially.
Minì and Tsolov both tried to clear the slower cars ahead as quickly as possible. Once they reached open track, Minì focused on keeping his tyres within the correct operating window before launching his final attack.
He deliberately moved closer to Tsolov, then increased the gap again when he felt the tyres required protection. That disciplined approach helped him preserve enough grip to complete the pass later in the race.
“Well, I think it was very, very important. That’s why I was—I mean, both me and him tried to clear everyone as soon as we could, realistically. So, yeah, in the end, we just tried to get a clear space.
“The main thing was, especially towards the end, not to get too close to Nikola. That’s why you could see me get close and then back out from it again to try and attack at the end. So, it was very important. We saw also how easy it was for everyone, really, when getting overtaken, to just lose so many seconds. So, this is just because you get some dirt in your tyres and just lose confidence and pace. So, that’s just showing how much it’s important.”
DRS offers limited assistance on the Barcelona straight
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s long main straight usually creates the clearest overtaking opportunity around the lap.
However, Minì did not believe DRS provided an especially strong advantage during the Sprint Race. He had to remain extremely close to Tsolov through the final corner and barely moved fully ahead before the braking zone at Turn 1.
Herta encountered a similar problem while pursuing Minì. Despite exiting the final corner within range, the American could not move alongside before the braking zone.
Minì suggested that a possible tailwind had reduced the effectiveness of both the slipstream and DRS. That limited assistance also increased the importance of securing a strong exit from the final corner.
“I don’t know if there was any tailwind, really, but it didn’t feel that powerful, to be honest. I had to be quite close to Nikola and barely made it at the corner right in front of him. It was not really powerful.
“And even when Colton was exiting quite close from the last corner, he was not really managing to get alongside me. So I think it was not really powerful. There was just some tailwind. We know that, in this case, the effect is much reduced.
“And with Colton, it was not really a fight. He was just trying to follow, but I managed to pull away a bit. In the end, it’s a bit of a shame for him because, after finishing the first part of the T1, there are not really many overtaking opportunities. So it’s a bit of a shame for him, of course, to lose the podium. But it’s racing, and it can happen, of course.”
MP Motorsport environment helps Minì rebuild confidence in 2026 F2 campaign
Minì joined MP Motorsport after a difficult previous campaign and described the move as a necessary change. He has since developed a strong relationship with the team’s engineers and found a car set-up that suits his preferences. That connection has helped him produce regular points and podium finishes during the opening four rounds.
Barcelona also provided a clear comparison with the previous season. While Minì struggled at the circuit one year earlier, he returned with competitive pace and fought towards the front throughout the Sprint Race.
“After a tough season like last year, I feel like we had to change the air a bit and change teams to try to have a shot at the Championship. Of course, we struggled. We had our struggles, but we still never gave up. In a way, we always did our best. Sometimes it’s just not enough.
“The relationship with the team is really, really good. We’ve been working really well, and the environment and the way of work is just really nice. I feel like it’s really good for me, in a way. Every driver has their own likings. I find myself really well both with the engineers and with the car set-up in general.
“I think last year, especially coming to Barcelona, was a bit more of a struggle. But so far, this weekend, we showed really good pace. It shows the difference that you can make just changing teams and finding yourself well with what you have under. It’s been really good so far.”
Consistency strengthens Minì’s early campaign
Minì has scored in every race except one during the opening phase of the campaign. His only interruption came in Monaco after he had run inside the top five for much of the race. However, he immediately responded with another podium in Barcelona.
Rather than targeting points merely for the sake of extending the streak, Minì wants to match each result to the performance available. That approach means taking victories when possible, collecting podiums when a win remains out of reach and limiting losses on more difficult weekends.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s been a long streak. It’s a shame, of course, to have ended it in Monaco after running for so long in the top five. So, of course, it’s a bit of a shame, but we’re back on the podium again. So, as I mentioned before, it’s five out of the six last races.
“And the goal, of course, is to always try and score points. So, of course, this doesn’t mean always ending in P10, but, as I said, it’s maximising the results. I feel like that’s what we’ve been doing so far. When we could take the win, we took the win. When we could take the podium, we did that. And every time we can score points, we have been doing that.
“So, that’s very positive. And it’s, once again, as I mentioned, a very good streak and good momentum to carry on to the next races.”
Minì targets 2026 Barcelona F2 Feature Race victory from third
Minì will start the Barcelona Feature Race from third, giving him another opportunity to fight at the front. However, he expects tyre degradation and the changing strategic picture to influence what he can achieve. Therefore, he intends to assess the race as it develops rather than committing to a fixed approach before the start.
Nevertheless, Minì made his ultimate target clear: improve on his Sprint Race result and challenge for victory.
“Well, I think that, starting from P3, trying to improve a bit from today, the goal is, of course, to try and win. But, once again, we will see how the race evolves, especially on those tracks with high degradation. It’s most likely to see what the maximum is during the race.
“You have to always see the situation around you, how everything is going and how everyone else is doing. So, the only thing that we can do for sure, and the goal, is to maximise once again the work through the afternoon and night and then be ready for tomorrow.”
