F3 | Minì: “In 2024 the goal is to fight to win the title”

Looking to 2024, the Formula 3 grid is not yet complete, as several names are still missing with holes that will only be filled in the days preceding the first pre-season test session in Bahrain.

However, among many unknowns there is one certainty, namely the Prema line-up, which presents itself at the starting line with a particularly interesting lineup. In addition to the Swede Dino Beganovic, who is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and who will aim to win the world championship crown, there will be two other talents to keep an eye on: on the one hand the rookie Arvid Lindblad, one of the contenders for the final victory in F4 Italian and Euro 4 last year and who achieved a victory in the opening round of the Formula Regional Middle East 2024, on the other Gabriele Minì.

For the Italian it will be his second year in Formula 3, the first after returning to Prema, the team with which he won the Italian Formula 4 championship in 2020, before moving to ART for the seasons in Formula Regional. Minì then changed teams once again in 2023, moving to Hitech when making the leap to Formula 3, on a path in which Alpine F1 also accompanies him, having joined the French team's academy at the beginning of last year. For 2024, his aim is to fight for the title, which would put him in the best position to seek a Formula 2 seat in 2025.

2023 was a season full of “ifs” and opportunities that did not materialize. Already in Bahrain the Italian had showcased his talent, but a penalty then pushed him out of the podium area, instead reaching the next stage, in Australia. In Monaco, the third event of the year, he also achieved his first victory, but from that moment on he was unable to maintain great consistency, with unfortunately fluctuating results. The podium and the victory achieved between Austria and Hungary alternated with more subdued performances which excluded him from the possibility of competing for the noblest positions in the ranking.

The seventh place finish is certainly not the result that the Alpine Academy driver would have liked to achieve, but a new season with a change of team brings with it new hopes. “To be honest, last season the performances were good almost everywhere. It doesn't always depend solely on the driver [ci sono anche aspetti legati al team], but my goal is always to do the best I can. What I want to do is maximize every lap I do, especially in qualifying. If I make something mistake, like last year in Barcelona which cost me many positions, if you want to win a championship you can't afford these types of mistakes. Maybe we can do without them, but it's better if we don't do them,” the Italian said in an interview on the Formula 3 website.

“When I was with Hitech, we were already like a family, because we spent a year together and worked in Formula Regional Asia, but with PREMA it's going back to where I've already been. For example, my engineer is the one I worked with in Formula 4, so it's always nice to go back to the first year of my single-seater career, which brings me great memories because it went very well [con la conquista del titolo]”.

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Gabriele Mini after the victory in Monaco in 2023

“Theirs [di Prema] way of working is really good. They are probably the best school you can have with so much data and information. It's always good to have more data to be able to improve, together with very strong teammates like Dino and Arvid, for me as a driver.”

Being one of the riders who already has a year under his belt in the category, the Alpine Academy talent knows that this time the pressure on his shoulders to achieve the big goal will be greater. However, the Italian driver himself has set very clear objectives for the championship which will start in a few weeks, also aware of the sensations found in the post-championship tests in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2023: “In terms of pace, I don't think we will be bad. The race pace has been quite good in testing, I just need to maximize it every time I get in the car.”

“The objective, especially since it is my second year and therefore even more than the first, is to demonstrate that I can be fast and try to fight for the title. This year we will have to fight even more, and we already know it. We will do our best and we hope to do well,” explained Minì.