Currently racing in his second F2 season, Gabriele Minì believes that the experience he has gained in F3 and during his first F2 campaign will be key to challenging for the 2026 title.
The Italian driver stepped up to F3 in 2023, continuing on in 2024, where he claimed P3 in the Drivers’ Standings with 130 points. That same year, Minì made an impressive F2 debut with PREMA Racing, taking a P3 podium in the Baku Sprint before securing his full-time seat for 2025. Despite his strong Baku result, his debut season proved difficult, as he finished 13th in the standings after struggling with consistency and adapting.
In 2026, Minì began a new chapter in his career with a switch to MP Motorsport, which, for now, has proven positive with points at the 2026 F2 Australian GP.
Minì: “Pace has always been pretty strong”
Speaking about his racing approach, Minì explained that race pace has consistently been one of his strongest assets: “I think the pace has always been pretty strong, to be honest. From the first test I did in F3, and the first race I did in F3 – I basically won it on track before getting the penalty.”
“Same thing for F2 – we had pole position in the first round, so I think the pace has always been a strong point, most of the time at least,” he said, having claimed his maiden F2 pole at the 2025 season opener in Melbourne.
He continued: “Then, you learn more and more in terms of approach, in terms of racecraft and things like that, the details, because in the end that’s what makes the biggest difference. You can do a small mistake in a corner because you want to try another push more in Qualifying, and you end up losing ten positions.”
“In this championship it’s a lot, and it’s a lot of points lost, so there’s some details, some little things that just can change your championship, and that’s what you learn.”
So far in 2026, Minì’s progress has reflected this balance between pace and execution, bouncing back from P21 qualifying to finish P6 and P8 in the F2 Melbourne Sprint and Feature Races, respectively.
Championship mentality
Minì has significant championship-contending experience, despite missing out on the 2024 F3 title to Leonardo Fornaroli. That campaign helped shape his understanding of how a driver’s approach evolves across seasons and series.
“You approach the first year in a certain way, and the second year with a bit more knowledge, let’s say, trying to fight for the championship kind of mentality.”
“But, the goal is always to fight for the championship straight away. There isn’t a championship I’ve been in where I went into it and said, ‘okay, this year I’m going to learn, I don’t care where I finish.’ That’s not how it works, for me at least.”
At the same time, Minì noted that a title challenge is not only about winning races but also about maximizing difficult weekends and securing consistent, smaller-point finishes.
“The goal is always to try and fight for the front, but it can change in terms of approach. For example, in the 2024 season there were many times where I just didn’t have the pace for one reason or another, and we still went home with a few points.”
“In the end, how the championship ends is what really matters. So, we know that to fight for a championship you need also those kinds of small points scores here and there when there is not a possibility to score any, so that’s a different mentality.”
He added: “Maybe on another occasion you try to send it maybe too hard and end up getting a penalty or crashing out, but if you play smart, maybe at the end something happens, some penalty is given to the others, you can gain. And that’s also something to think about when it’s not going your way.”
Physical adaptation
Reflecting on his physical preparation between his step up from F3 to F2, Minì said: “I didn’t really have anyone telling me that I needed more or less, you know? I just wanted to do it for myself. I know that it’s something I needed and that would have been beneficial to do. Of course, it’s a lot of work needed because I was essentially starting a diet, working every day.”
“It’s really not easy. I had to work really hard, but in the end it worked and it helped me quite a lot. I think that with the same physique that I had in F3, I would have not maybe managed to do everything well in F2, so that’s why I needed a change.”
He went on to detail his diet and strength training changes, as he shared: “I changed my diet completely, really from one opposite to another. In a month, I gained like five kilos, which was crazy for me to think about. I thought I couldn’t, but I did. And then I just kept on going, growing stronger and stronger. For example, at the gym now, I can just lift three times what I did one and a half years ago.”
“And even now, I’m still keeping the same regime and I still keep on getting stronger, so it’s very good.”
“It’s really funny because I train my neck and people on the team will say let’s do that too, so I let them, but they do like a quarter or a third of my weight and they really struggle. So it’s very funny to see, but of course for the drivers in general, the neck is really important.”
Alpine support
Having joined the Alpine Academy in 2023, the MP Motorsport driver went on to share the importance of their support throughout his junior racing career.
“I think it’s really a good sign, having an F1 team and an academy that believes in you and gives you support all this time.”
“So I’m really grateful once again for that. They’re giving me big opportunities thanks to my manager, thanks to all the sponsors and thanks to Alpine, that’s the reason why I can race today and I can race this season and all the past seasons. So I’m really grateful for them and grateful for everyone supporting me.”
“And once again, it’s not only an help in terms of these things, but it’s also an help to grow as a person and as a driver on and off track,” Minì concluded, looking forward to the rest of the 2026 F2 season.
