Minì: Qualifying redemption in mind after impressive early pace

Gabriele Minì was the driver to beat in Practice around Albert Park, the MP Motorsport driver setting a 1:29.137 to lead the pack comfortably by four-tenths.

The Italian driver was a constant presence at the top of the timing sheets and says that his and the team’s start to the weekend is a huge positive as he looks to hit the ground running in 2026.

“It was quite a good session,” he said in the paddock afterwards. “We started off not too great I'd say with the first lap, had contact because of another driver preparing the lap, so it took off a piece of my front wing which wasn’t ideal.

“But after that we were up to speed straight away. Every push we did were P1 with a good gap behind. Even including the last one, we were quite fast. We are checking what's needed for qualifying, but it's a very good start.”

Minì says that despite his impressive performance across the session, things weren’t straightforward from the cockpit.

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As the track continued to ramp up, drivers pushed the limits, several experiencing off-track excursions, with two Red Flags impacting the session.

The Alpine junior driver says that they will have to adapt once again to track conditions entirely different from the ones the experienced in Practice come Qualifying.

“Well, it's really quite complicated to be honest. We know the track was improving quite a lot lap by lap. There are the rookies that maybe don't have the experience in F2, so they were catching up lap after lap. Even then, in the top five there are three rookies.

“So we will see how it turns out. It's a good start, being up there, we also have a softer compound to the Qualifying tyre compared to last year. It was Medium, now it's Soft.

“So it helps to have a better idea, but nothing is done. We will probably have track temps that are going to be about 20 degrees higher and the wind will change. So we will see, we just have to reset and start again.”

The MP driver was quickest in Qualifying one year ago around Albert Park, but a grid penalty for impeding meant he didn’t start from P1.

12 months later and he’s eager to make amends for that, but isn’t expecting an easy time, explaining that even if he and the team have made a strong start, they have to remain ready for anything in the half-hour session that sets the grid.

“I got pole last year in before getting the grid penalty. I just love the flow of the track, it's really nice. The teams I've been with have always been competitive here.

“I have full trust in the team and I am very confident. I know that last year they've been competitive.

“Two years ago, they got pole position. And now again, we showed a very good speed since the first push in FP. So not too worried.

“I know that I have to do my job as usual because you can have the best car and then do a bad lap and not be on pole. And vice versa as well. So I'll focus on myself and I have full trust in them, and we'll see how it goes.”