Gabriele Mini celebrated his first victory in the Formula 2 category in a race marked by intensity and humid conditions in Miami.
The MP Motorsport driver prevailed in a contested battle with Ferrari’s young talents, Dino Beganovic and Rafael Camara, with the top three separated by less than two seconds as they crossed the finish line.
After two formation laps under the safety car due to heavy pre-race rain, the race began with Kush Maini, the pole sitter, comfortably leading while Camara found himself caught in a poor start from second position.
Camara, an Invicta driver, was one of several competitors who struggled at the first corner. Subsequently, Nikola Tsolov, winner of Saturday’s sprint, was eliminated at the first corner in an accident with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.
With the safety car on track, drivers were asked to pit, but Maini and Camara passed by, while Mini inadvertently entered the pits, omitting an essential bollard for entry.
In a period of confusion, Martinius Stenshorne, who had pitted first, took the lead of the race, although he returned leadership to Maini when the safety car departed.
With the safety car withdrawn at the end of the third lap, Maini continued to lead, followed by Stenshorne, who had to serve a stop-go penalty, dropping him to the back of the field.
The race continued with Maini maintaining more than seven seconds of advantage, while Beganovic fought intensely to overtake Mini and close the gap to the Invicta drivers.
In the midst of this competitive dynamic, Alex Dunne made a mistake at turn 17, resulting in a new safety car period.
After ten laps, most drivers headed to the pits. Camara, in a strategic move, managed to overtake Maini to reclaim clear leadership. With 25 minutes left, the competition turned into a controversial time contest.
A new safety car timed the race with Stenshorne out of the race, leaving Camara again under pressure with several drivers battling for first position.
Mini, seizing opportunities, surpassed Leon before the next safety car, which was necessary to retrieve Cian Shields’ car.
With only six minutes remaining, Camara led the race, but Beganovic attempted an audacious overtake at turn 17. Camara tried to regain second position, allowing Mini to gain an advantage. Mini managed the situation and, with a mistake from Beganovic, crossed the finish line as the winner.
Camara held onto third position ahead of Leon, while Maini completed the top five. The competition was intense until the end, with Mini achieving a memorable victory in Miami.
Race Classification (25 laps)
1. Gabriele Mini (MP Motorsport) – 56m22.029s
2. Dino Beganovic (DAMS) – +0.980s
3. Rafael Camara (Invicta Racing) – +2.040s
4. Noel Leon (Campos Racing) – +2.400s
5. Kush Maini (ART Grand Prix) – +3.855s
6. Ritomo Miyata (Hitech) – +4.447s
7. Mari Boya (Prema Racing) – +7.923s
8. Colton Herta (Hitech) – +10.969s
9. Sebastian Montoya (Prema Racing) – +11.381s
10. Joshua Duerksen (Invicta Racing) – +12.335s
Fastest lap record: Camara, 1m55.796s
Championship Standings
1. Tsolov – 35 points
2. Mini – 34 points
3. Camara – 34 points
4. van Hoepen – 26 points
5. Miyata – 22 points
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_9eca6ab739ccfc43aa0c331d184229f9d9302c2b