Azerbaijan 2024, Sprint Race: 3rd place for Minì in his first race | FP

Making his debut in Formula 2 after a whole season spent in F3 and immediately conquering the podium: this is the feat he managed to achieve Gabriele Mini on the occasion of the Baku Sprint Racewhere the Palermo native from Prema concluded the 3rd place in the photo finish in front of Victor Martins, preceding the Frenchman by only 20 thousandths second. An exciting race not only for the young Sicilian from the Alpine school, but also for Joshua Durksenwho with the victory on the Azerbaijani street circuit climbs to the top step of the podium in F2 for the first time ahead of Jack Crawford and the already mentioned Minì. A Sprint that also smiles at another Italian like Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 7thas well as to the Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto. Thanks to the 5th placethe Invicta team rider recovered points in the standings on Isack Hadjar, 12th and out of the points zone. The Frenchman, moreover, seriously risks losing the championship lead during tomorrow’s Feature Race, thanks to a penalty that will force him to start from the 20th position on the starting grid for having caused the red flag in yesterday’s qualifying.

Race report

Today’s Sprint Race, due to the inversion of the top ten on the starting grid, saw another Formula 2 rookie Christian Mansell start from pole position, who was good at defending his race lead ahead of Minì, who was more skilled at the start than Crawford and moved up to second place ahead of the American and Durksen, third. The top 3 remained unchanged over the first seven laps, despite the activation of the DRS and the possibility for the Sicilian from Prema to become more of a threat in Mansell’s mirrors, especially on the long straight to the finish line. However, the attack on the Australian from Trident was successful on turn 1 on the seventh lap, with the F3 vice-champion taking the lead in his first ever F2 race. Mansell was definitely in trouble, with the rookie from the Milanese team moving into third place on the following lap after the attack from the Paraguayan from the AIXN Racing team. As the laps went by, Minì held firm to the lead until the 13th of the 21 total laps, handing over the lead to Durksen, who then pulled away from his pursuers. Furthermore, on the 15th lap, the group regrouped for the entry of the Safety Car, which intervened after Miyata hit the barriers and came out three laps from the end. At this point, and with worn tyres, Minì was unable to maintain second place over Crawford, risking losing his dream of the podium just before the checkered flag. With the DRS activated, Martins tried everything to get into the top three, failing to do so by just 20 thousandths of a second. Finally, incredible is what happened to Bortoleto after the Safety Car: despite the impact against the barriers due to contact with Maini, the Brazilian still managed to stay on the track, maintaining 5th place until the finish line and keeping it until the end, closing the gap in the standings on Hadjar. Don’t miss the Feature Race Tomorrowscheduled on Sky Sports F1 to the 09:35.