Minì targeting fight at the top in Qualifying after positive steps made in Spielberg Practice

Gabriele Minì was happy with the start to his Spielberg weekend, as the PREMA Racing driver ending up with the second fastest time in Free Practice.

The Italian and teammate Sebastián Montoya were the last two drivers to leave the pitlane during the session, heading out on to the track as their rivals finished their first set of push laps.

This gave Minì an empty circuit to drive on for much of his running, and he showed strong form before rocketing to the top of the timesheets with a 1:16.391.

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Minì’s lap was eventually beaten by Alexander Dunne, leaving the PREMA driver 0.270s off the top time. While forced to settle for second, he was very happy with how Practice went.

“It was quite a good session,” started Minì. “We went out a bit later than the others on track, and my best lap was on the second push, so still some margin to find on the driving, and some stuff to improve.

“But at the moment it seems like we made a good step, also in terms of the car from here to Barcelona. So I’m quite happy about it, now we just need to find the last bits, but it's already a good step. Just need to work hard now and get ready for quali.”

After a bright start to the season, during which Minì scored points in every race contested at the opening three rounds, his form has taken a slight dip at the last three weekends.

A P2 finish in the Monte Carlo Sprint Race came in the middle of two point-less outings in Imola, a retirement from the Sunday event in the Principality and the Barcelona Sprint.

Minì did end up in P10 at the Spanish venue’s Feature Race, but the 20-year-old says that after the difficulties of the last few rounds, he and PREMA have gone back to the drawing board.

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“It's not been easy these last rounds,” said Minì. “We've always been struggling with something. So for this weekend, we changed a few things, but we just have to see and it hope that it works.

“At the moment, it seems like there is a difference, but we just have to work and try to prepare for quali.”

For the entire 45-minute Practice session, all 22 drivers ran the Softs, but are set to bolt on the Supersofts for Qualifying. This is an area Minì concedes has caused he and PREMA a few difficulties recently.

“Usually there is always a change in terms of car balance, from the Prime to the Options,” added Minì. “This is where we have struggled a bit, but now we have made big changes made.

“So it's a step in a good way, on the things we have struggled with, so it's good. We just have to do the right work, go through the data, and make it work as best as possible. The difference is there for everyone, so it's up to us to maximise it.”

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On his targets for Qualifying and the races around a track where he has achieved plenty of success before, Minì said: “The goal is always to fight for the win, I am not going into weekends trying to fight for P8.

“The goal is always to try and fight for the top positions. I like the track, I like the flow of it, it's both high and low speed corners. Even though there are not many corners it's really balanced.

“Usually we've been quite quick, we've won some races and had some podiums here, so I will give my best and then see at the end.”