By: Following Andrea Kimi Antonelli's arrival in the Formula 1 paddock, Italy hopes that more representatives of the country will soon make it into the world championship circus. One of the leading candidates, and a driver with very promising prospects, is Gabriele Minì, born in 2005 in Marineo.
After the Baku weekend, we at Formula1.it had the pleasure and honour of interviewing him exclusively. During our lengthy conversation, we covered a range of topics, including his debut behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, physical training and the path he is taking in an attempt to reach F1. To read his words, you can CLICK HERE.
In the second part, however, we wanted to focus more on finding out who Gabriele Minì is away from the track and how he has reached this point in his career.
Starting with the beginning, the young Sicilian told us: “It all started thanks to my father. When I turned one, instead of any of the other things you would give a child of that age, he decided to give me a kart.”
“He raced in slaloms, first in a 112 and then in a Radical, and from the very beginning he introduced me to the world of racing by giving me this working kart. Obviously, I was scared at first, but then I started driving when I was two and a half, and by the age of four I was racing on street circuits. From there, the whole journey that has brought me to where I am today began.”
His father's advice has also been fundamental throughout his career. Gabriele did not hide the fact that it remains a very important subject for him today: “We have always had a great relationship and, even now, I always speak to him after every race. Obviously, as you grow up and have competitive people around you, you receive a great deal of very useful advice, but a father's advice is always the most genuine, sincere and easiest to understand. He has never failed to give it.”
Gabriele's Formula 2 experience has not been easy. After making his debut at Baku with Prema, having been called up to replace Oliver Bearman, where he secured his first podium, he then decided to contest the following season with the Italian team, although he did not achieve the results he had hoped for.
For that reason, he decided to change teams, joining MP Motorsport. Speaking about the move and how his current season has been going, Minì said: “Honestly, the team change was mainly down to the results. Obviously, we always gave our all with Prema, but sometimes there are years in which you cannot achieve the targets you set.”
“We decided to make a change by choosing MP Motorsport and, as you can already see, this season has gone much better. I think I already have perhaps four times as many points as last year after the first 11 rounds. Obviously, there has been an improvement in that respect, even though we still have to finish, but it has certainly been a positive thing.”
This year also brought his first Formula 2 career victory, on his debut at Miami. The race, marked by rain, several safety cars and numerous incidents, provided plenty of entertainment for fans at home, including a “last-corner” duel between Gabriele and Dino Beganovic.
“Looking at the race itself and its difficulties, it was fantastic because it was my first victory in Formula 2, so it was very nice and special. What is more, doing it in the wet, in difficult conditions where it was very easy to make a mistake, as we saw from the various incidents. Then the battle with Dino in the final laps was the icing on the cake, and everything went for the best.”
When we asked him which circuit on the calendar was his favourite, Gabriele revealed: “I do not have just one, but I would say the one where I feel most at ease and like the most is Melbourne. I have always been very competitive there, and the track layout and flow are very nice. I cannot explain it exactly, but I really like the way every corner links to the next one, and for that reason it is one of my favourite tracks.” He went on to clarify: “In the end, Melbourne, Monaco and that style of track are my favourites.”
Delving further into the private life of the young driver from Palermo, we wanted to find out whether he had any other passions outside motorsport: “Honestly, not really. My whole life revolves around motorsport. When I am not at the track racing in Formula 2, I go karting to train, or I follow my brother during his races. When I am at home, I use the simulator. As a family, we do not have many other sports, although of course there are things I enjoy doing, such as playing padel or going bowling with my friends. I also like running, both to train and to get out and about a bit, but I do not have a particular passion other than motorsport.”
As we moved towards the end of our lengthy conversation with Gabriele Minì, we could not avoid touching on another important subject for the Marineo driver: ACI Team Italia. The 21-year-old has proudly displayed the ACI crest on his single-seaters whenever he races since the start of his career, and he told us: “It is a great honour.”
“I am now the only Italian driver left in Formula 2, so everything depends on the results we can bring home. As I said, it is a great honour also because they have supported me since my karting days, giving me the opportunity to race in their championships. Then, in cars, I have always been part of ACI Team Italia, managing to represent my country every year in every category I have competed in, and that makes it even more beautiful and exciting. It is not so much a matter of pressure, but rather pride.”
To conclude, we asked Gabriele a question to which, despite Stefano Domenicali's latest comments to the media during the Bahrain weekend in Malaysia, it is still not possible to give a certain answer. We are referring to the end of the season which, although currently confirmed in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, could still undergo changes, thereby also affecting the Formula 2 championship and the three-way title fight we are witnessing.
Attempting to answer that question, Gabriele said: “The championship did not end in Baku, also because it would not be a nice thing to announce the winner when you are not at a race weekend and are away from the tracks; I do not think that would be ideal. We still have no certainty, but there is a 99% chance that the championship is not over yet.”
We thank Gabriele Minì and the MP Motorsport team for their courtesy and availability during the interview. Partial reproduction of this exclusive content is permitted provided the author (Giuseppe Cianci) and source Formula1.it are credited, with a link to the original content.
Photo: Dutch Photo Agency
