Minì takes stellar debut podium in Baku
Gabriele Minì posted a stunning debut podium today at Baku as the PREMA Racing rookie secured third place at the end of his first FIA Formula 2 race. Starting from the third spot on the grid, Minì quickly got up to P2 and eventually made a clean move for the lead in the early stages. As the race went under caution, the Alpine Academy driver lost a bit of pace and also nudged the wall with minor damage.
After having to surrender the lead, he dropped to P3 by going wide on cold tyres at a mid-race restart. Still, he fought like a lion in third, sealing the deal by 0.02s. Stepping in without any experience in the car, Minì delivered an incredibly solid run.
Kimi Antonelli finished in seventh place after delivering an incredibly solid run from the 9th place on the grid. The Mercedes-AMG F1 Junior driver seemed set to make even more gains, but faced a tricky situation when he had to avoid hitting the car he had in front in the eventful restart.
He will go again tomorrow starting from the front row in P2.
#3 GABRIELE MINÌ
"Just finished my first FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race. It was a tricky one. It started off pretty well as I gained one place straight away, followed Christian for the first two laps and then I overtook him. Leading felt pretty good, and I stayed on top for a good part of the race. Then I started dropping and I also had to finish the race with an offset steering wheel after an earlier tap to the wall. I managed to stay there but I lost a place at the safety car restart as I had zero tyre temperature. I tried my best but still went straight off. Still, I managed to keep Victor behind and it was enough to get to the podium in my first race."
#4 KIMI ANTONELLI
"Sprint race done, and it was a messy race. Still, the pace was really good throughout the whole run and it looks promising looking forward to tomorrow. We have been a bit unlucky, especially at the restart, I had to avoid a potential crash and lost a few positions, but the pace is looking good so let's see tomorrow."