Gabriele Minì: 'Title not out of reach' after aggressive drive to points in Madrid

MP Motorsport's Gabriele Minì was able to mount a spirited fightback in Madrid after a tough Qualifying session left him starting down the order.

The Italian recovered from 13th on the Feature Race grid to wind up inside the points with seventh place marking a solid recovery drive.

Looking back at his race, Minì talked through his approach, as he picked off several rivals at Turn 13 making overtakes that he says were 'big sends' out of La Monumental.

"Started P13, I got a very good start, but because of that I got sandwiched between two cars, so I had to slow down, and I think I actually lost position there, it was just a mess at the beginning.

"I tried surviving, and I gained three positions, so three nice overtakes, and to be honest we just managed up until the Safety Car

"I managed to overtake Ollie and then I extended the stint. We then decided to pit because we felt like it was a good moment to get the two cars ahead. But sadly a Safety Car just came after that.

"That was a big shame, we lost four places because if the timing of the Safety Car had been lucky for us, we could have been in P4. Instead, we restarted P8. So then again, I had to do a big send for P7, but then the three cars ahead were on fresh option tyres, and we know it's a big difference around here.

"We just had to try and see if they were going to make a mistake, which happened at some point, but there was no space to make a pass."

With overtaking proving difficult around the Madring, the Alpine Academy talent says that his moves were more instinctive than planned.

His progress stood out with other drivers opting for a more conservative approach, but his current Championship position means that aggressive moves were required.

"To be honest, the moves weren't really planned. I was like, OK, more or less we can do it. So I just sent it and then we'll see what happens after. It worked most of the time. Sometimes it didn't because I sent it too hard, but I was never really in an overtaking spot.

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"That's why nobody really defended. I think I was braking 15 metres later than what I usually do. And it was working, to be honest. It was good, but we're getting to the end of the Championship and I knew I needed to make moves up the order.

"Either you do this or you go home with regrets. That's not what I want to do. I prefer to crash into a wall trying than not trying at all."

Minì remains third in the Drivers' Standings but was able to take several points out of leader Nikola Tsolov.

Heading to Baku, the MP driver now sits 24 points adrift in the Drivers' Championship, well within range considering there will be an additional Qualifying and Feature Race in Azerbaijan next time out.

The Italian says that he feels the gap isn't too big to overturn in the final rounds of the 2026 campaign, but that there will need to be a step made in one-lap speed in particular in order to challenge for the title.

"I think we can still be happy. We gained six points to the leader this weekend and considering two contenders started the Feature in P3 and in P5, leaving here gaining points is not bad.

"We see Alex is getting close as well. We just need to sort out our quali. I think in Baku everything is still open.

"We know in motorsport that anything can happen. We know we can do it, we just have to go with the mentality of not having much to lose and trying to maximise everything, as always.

"We have a bit to figure out, we know what's going on, but we have to figure qualifying out in particular. Starting at the front, I think we can fight for better positions."