R01 Melbourne – FIA Formula 2 Qualifying Report – PREMA, Minì show blistering pace to take Melbourne pole

PREMA Racing and Gabriele Minì put up a stellar display today at Albert Park as the FIA Formula 2 Championship season took off with qualifying in Melbourne.

Driving the #10 car, the Italian cruised to pole position by vaulting into the lead after being competitive throughout the whole session. Minì put everything together in a frantic finale within a close pack, and eventually ended up more than one tenth clear of his closest competitor.

The session, which ran uninterrupted, saw Sebastian Montoya end up in P11. The Colombian worked to increase the chemistry with the car and tyres in his first qualifying experience in the series. Although a couple of lock-ups compromised his result, he put in a solid amount of work throughout the day as the team now refocus on the opening race.

#9 SEBASTIAN MONTOYA
“My first Formula 2 qualy was a bit of a learning experience. The first lap on set 1 was quite good, then with the second one I got a lock-up, and from there, the situation was tough to manage with a flat spot on the front right making it difficult to understand the balance and the tyre evolution. Then I had another lock-up in the first lap of run 2, which compromised that too, and in the end, I was just trying to put laps together. It was quite good, but I’m still missing a bit of feeling. The track changed a lot from this morning and the gap to the option tyres is quite big, but I think the speed is there. We just need to put it a bit together.”

#10 GABRIELE MINÌ
“It has been a very positive qualifying session, and every push lap we did, we were in the top two or three. The car was great and we are looking very strong. We did a clean job, worked the procedure well and everything went according to plan. I managed to put in a strong one in in the very last lap and be on pole. I’m very happy about it, but we have to try to set a clean record and focus on the races.”