Gabriele Minì Secures Maiden F2 Victory in Chaotic Miami Feature Race

A Chaotic Start in South Florida

Following earlier concerns that the Formula 2 Feature Race was in jeopardy due to bad weather in Miami, the event eventually got underway with a standing start after multiple formation laps behind the Safety Car. Pole sitter Kush Maini executed a flawless launch to retain the lead, while wheelspin for second-placed Rafael Câmara allowed Martinius Stenshorne to challenge for P2. However, both the Rodin Motorsport and Invicta Racing drivers ran deep at Turn 1, opening the door for Gabriele Minì to slot into third.

The Safety Car made its first appearance shortly after, deployed to recover the Campos Racing car of Championship leader Nikola Tsolov. Fresh off his Sprint Race victory, Tsolov was left on the sidelines following contact with ART Grand Prix’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak at the first corner—an incident that earned the Thai driver a 10-second time penalty.

Strategic Gambles and Safety Car Interruptions

As the field was instructed to drive through the pitlane, Maini and Câmara opted to continue down the main straight, while the rest of the pack peeled into the pits. When racing resumed on Lap 4, Stenshorne served his penalty, promoting the Invicta Racing duo to second and third.

The green flag running was short-lived. Oliver Goethe suffered a massive snap at Turn 18, sending his MP Motorsport machine into the barriers and triggering a Virtual Safety Car. When full racing conditions returned on Lap 6, Dino Beganovic went on the offensive, executing a brilliant move around the outside of Turn 1 to claim fourth from Minì into Turn 4.

The Swede quickly closed the gap to Duerksen, joining the battle for second as Câmara began to slip back from race leader Maini. Further back, Alexander Dunne’s pursuit of Minì ended in the Turn 17 barriers on Lap 9, bringing out the Safety Car once again.

This prompted the majority of the field to dive into the pitlane for their mandatory stops. Duerksen, however, elected to stay out, inheriting the race lead ahead of Colton Herta and John Bennett. In the pitlane, traffic passing the ART box delayed Maini’s release, allowing Câmara to jump ahead as they rejoined in fourth and fifth.

The Final Showdown

With the Safety Car withdrawn, the race transitioned to a time-certain finish with 23 minutes remaining. Duerksen nailed the restart to build a buffer over Herta. Beganovic continued his charge, rounding Maini at Turn 1 to take fifth. Moments later, Noel León and Minì demoted Maini further down the order.

Another Safety Car period—triggered by a collision between Nico Varrone and Stenshorne that earned the VAR driver a 10-second penalty—forced Duerksen, Herta, and Bennett to make their mandatory stops. This handed the race lead to Câmara, with Beganovic and León in hot pursuit.

When racing resumed with 16 minutes remaining, Beganovic applied relentless pressure on Câmara. The DAMS driver forced an error from the Brazilian into Turn 11, but Câmara managed to hold his ground. Meanwhile, Minì executed a bold dive on León into Turn 16 to snatch third just before another Virtual Safety Car, which soon escalated into a full Safety Car.

The final five minutes delivered a spectacular climax. With the track drying rapidly and drivers sliding around on overheating Wet tyres, the top four were separated by just two seconds. With just over a minute remaining, Beganovic and Câmara both ran off the circuit at Turn 17. Beganovic recovered quicker, taking the lead heading into Turn 19.

Câmara attempted an immediate counter-attack into Turn 1 but ran wide again, allowing Minì to capitalize and take second. The MP Motorsport driver then pressured Beganovic into a mistake at Turn 11. The pair went side-by-side through the chicane, with Beganovic cutting across to stay ahead. However, a final error from the Swede at Turn 17 opened the door for Minì to seize the lead on the final lap.

The Alpine junior kept his composure to cross the line and secure his maiden Formula 2 victory, with Beganovic and Câmara completing the podium. León finished a strong fourth for Campos, ahead of Maini, Ritomo Miyata, Mari Boya, Herta, Sebastián Montoya, and Duerksen rounding out the top 10.

"A Chaotic Race"

Reflecting on his breakthrough win, Minì emphasized the importance of survival in the treacherous conditions.

"First win in F2 and first win in the Feature Race. Very happy with it, it was a chaotic race," the MP Motorsport driver said. "The first thing was trying to survive and stay on track, avoid any crashes and mistakes. I didn’t have great pace at the beginning, so I thought I would try staying there. In the second stint I had much more pace, started saving at the beginning and then there was a lot of fighting going on at the front, took advantage of it and had a good fight with Dino. With some clean laps, I managed to take the win."

Championship Standings and Up Next

Despite his early exit, Nikola Tsolov retains the lead in the Drivers' Championship with 35 points. However, Minì’s victory catapults him to second, just one point behind. Câmara sits third, level on 34 points with the Italian, while Laurens van Hoepen (26) and Miyata (22) complete the top five.

In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing leads the way with 56 points, closely followed by Invicta Racing on 50. MP Motorsport moves up to third with 46 points, ahead of Hitech (32) and TRIDENT (26).

The Formula 2 paddock now prepares for another historic debut, heading to Montreal for the first-ever F2 race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Round 3 of the 2026 season will take place from May 22-24.