Gabriele Minì feeling momentum after “very positive” work with PREMA Racing

Gabriele Minì was the driver to beat on day two of pre-season testing in Barcelona, topping the timing sheets for PREMA Racing.

The Italian set a 1:23.660 in the morning segment of the day, just under a tenth of a second clear of ART Grand Prix’s Ritomo Miyata in P2.

After stepping out of the car following the chequered flag that brought the second day of testing to a close, Minì was very pleased with his and the team’s work, beyond the laptimes.

“It was a very positive day,” the Alpine Academy driver said. “Already yesterday we showed really good pace, P2 in the morning with only one set of tyres and one lap after a long break. And then P2 in the afternoon with what felt like very good potential. We were also fast in the race simulations which was positive.

“Today again we were very strong straight away on the first set of option tyres. We did a laptime good enough for P1 and then later on I managed to improve it. So, a very good day. PREMA has been working very hard over the winter, and I have been too.

“They came up with what seems to be a very good package, so I’m very happy about this. The race simulation was very positive so happy with today.”

Having been a fixture at the top of the timing screens on the opening day of the test around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Minì continued his impressive form as he gets to grips with F2 machinery.

He was resolute in his belief that the work they are carrying out is more important than any headline laptimes, especially as the team work to bounce back from a tricky 2024 campaign.

“It’s a good thing because I know it’s only testing and it doesn’t really matter whether you’re P1 or P22 in the end, but I can tell you that it’s better to be fast.

“We know that especially here in Barcelona, maybe the race pace was not as good as the qualifying pace, so during the winter we’ve been working quite hard and believe we’ve managed to fix it.

“Now we’ll have to wait until the race weekends to confirm it, but it’s going very well at the moment. I didn’t really care about our position coming here, I think the thing that matters most is to work well, to learn with the team and get on with them, which we already do.

READ MORE: Minì ends Day 2 of Barcelona pre-season testing on top for PREMA Racing

“I understand and work well with the team in general, and with my driving. Being fast, it means we’ve done those things well. But even if we’re fast, the most important thing is to work with the team well during these tests.”

The 19-year-old got his F2 debut last season in a one-off appearance for PREMA at the Baku round in place of Oliver Bearman.

He achieved an impressive P3 in his maiden Feature Race, but after post-season testing late last year, and the first few days of 2025, Minì says he has made several further tweaks to adapt to the Championship.

“The weekend in Baku helped a lot, having a teammate who’d done all the testing last year and the season up to then – it was good to see the differences between the F3 and F2, even though it was for a very limited number of laps.

“But at the moment, I’m finding my feet quite well. I had to change my driving style quite a lot and that’s what I’ve been working on over the winter, but at the moment I’m feeling quite good with it.”

Focusing on what’s to come tomorrow for the final day of testing, the PREMA driver was open to anything, with rain forecast to hit the circuit at some point ahead of the green light on day three.

While some would prefer things to remain dry, Minì says he’s happy with whatever may come, as he looks to learn as much as he can including any experience he can get on Wet tyres.

“It should rain overnight but not sure if it will rain tomorrow. But we expect a wet track like we had the other morning with the fog.

“If it rains, we aren’t expecting many cars out in the first part of the morning. But most of the teams have used all of their tyres, maybe there are some with some tyres left.

“But it would be good to be able to drive in the wet because I’ve not had the chance to drive or test anything in the wet. So, getting some laps on a wet track would be good. We will see in the afternoon if it’ll dry out.”