Minì looking to maximise PREMA’s hard work ahead of tricky Bahrain weekend

Gabriele Minì is keen for PREMA Racing to continue their good form in Sakhir, although the Italian is under no illusions as to how difficult the conditions are set to be this weekend.

The 20-year-old has made a very good start to life in Formula 2, and qualified fastest in Melbourne, before being given a three-place penalty for impeding.

He continued that form in Bahrain last month at in-season testing, where his 1:42.488 was the fastest time set across the three days.

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As he previewed the upcoming weekend, Minì spoke about how excited he was to be back in the car.

“Round 2 after coming back from Australia, where we missed out on the Feature Race, the will to race is really high – to do a complete weekend,” he said.

“We were quite quick in testing, showed strong pace in both quali and especially on race simulations, so looking forward to this weekend.

“As you can imagine it's better to start well than to not. We worked really hard through the winter, we showed it till now, in the pre-season test, in Melbourne and the test in Bahrain.

“I trust the team quite a lot, that they have done a good job ahead of the week, and it's up to me to deliver.”

Assessing his own personal performance, Minì acknowledges that he has areas he would like to improve upon but believes he has been able to maximise the potential of the car so far.

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“I would be lying if I told you that there was nothing to improve,” he said. “There is always something to improve, not only for me, but just in general.

“Until now, I have performed quite well, all the laps, all the sessions, I have been trying to focus on myself quite a lot, especially through this winter, and from last year.

“For the moment, everything is going quite well. You will not always have the things to win or to be first, but for the moment I feel like we’ve maximised what we’ve had.”

The drivers are expected to face much different conditions to the ones they met last year and most recently at the in-season test, with the air and track temperatures set to be much higher.

At a circuit that already has an abrasive track surface, managing the Pirelli tyres this weekend is set to be much more difficult that the drivers have been used to, but Minì says this could make for exciting viewing for the fans.

“It will be quite tricky,” he said. “The track is really hot here, so it will be really hard to cool down the tyres. So, it means a smooth input will be key. We know already the deg was quite high in testing, so now, if anything, it will be even more so.

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“It will be interesting for sure for the spectators to watch the race and for us to be able to drive to the limit without killing the tyres. It will not be an easy task for both drivers and teams, but we will try to maximise everything we have.”

Minì says the goal is to be fighting for the win this weekend, but Qualifying could be pivotal to that. The pole-sitter has won four out of the last nine Feature Races in Bahrain, with three others ending up with at least a podium.

The Alpine Academy member knows the significance of Friday night’s pole shootout but plans to take it step-by-step during the 30-minute session.

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“To be honest, in testing we were very strong in the one lap pace,” he continued. “Both laps we did, we were in the top five, even with a worse second lap. So we’re not too worried about that anyway.

“The track will be quite different, so it will be about adapting on the first set and delivering on the second one. Not really too much to worry about or to predict for now, we just need to go there and see.”