Minì turns Madrid fightback into title momentum ahead of Baku
Minì recovers from 13th to seventh in Madrid
Gabriele Minì transformed a difficult qualifying result into a determined points finish at Madrid, climbing from 13th on the Feature Race grid to seventh for MP Motorsport.
The Italian’s race was unsettled from the opening metres. A strong launch left him “sandwiched between two cars”, forcing him to slow and costing him ground in the early confusion. From there, Minì focused on survival — and progress. He gained three positions through a series of overtakes before the race settled into its first major phase behind the Safety Car.
Minì then passed Ollie and extended his stint, with MP Motorsport opting to pit when the team believed it could jump the two cars ahead. The timing, however, turned against them when the Safety Car appeared immediately afterwards. Minì estimated that the unlucky neutralisation cost four positions and left him restarting eighth, rather than potentially running fourth.
He responded by making another aggressive move for seventh, but the challenge became more difficult as the three cars ahead were fitted with fresh option tyres. With overtaking already proving hard around the Madring, Minì had to wait for an opportunity. A mistake eventually opened the door, but there was not enough space to complete another pass.
For further context on the circuit’s overtaking challenge, see why Madring may need changes for 2027.
“Either you do this or you go home with regrets”
Minì said his moves were not carefully scripted. Instead, they were decisions made in the moment, often from positions where rivals did not expect an attack.
“I was like, OK, more or less we can do it. So I just sent it and then we’ll see what happens after,” he explained. The approach worked often enough to deliver a substantial recovery, although he admitted that he sometimes pushed too hard.
The Italian said he was braking around 15 metres later than usual, a risk he considered necessary with the championship entering its decisive phase. Minì remains third in the standings on 153 points, while taking six points out of leader Nikola Tsolov in Madrid. He now trails the championship leader by 24 points.
Qualifying is the priority for Baku
Minì believes the title remains within reach, particularly with an additional Qualifying session and Feature Race scheduled in Azerbaijan. The next round’s unusual format is outlined in F2 Baku’s expanded 2026 weekend.
But he identified one clear requirement: improved one-lap speed. “We just need to sort out our quali,” Minì said, insisting that starting near the front would give MP Motorsport a stronger chance to fight for the positions that matter most.
Simone Scanu
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.