While Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad dominated the first day of F2 pre-season testing in Barcelona, topping the timesheets with an impressive 1:24.415, it was Prema Racing’s Gabriele Minì’s turn to shine on Tuesday.
The Alpine Academy driver, who finished runner-up in the 2024 F3 season, topped the morning session. Though MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe would finish the afternoon session P1, it was Minì’s 1:23.660 that would be the fastest time of the day, and indeed, of the 2025 F2 pre-season testing.
A busy start to the morning
Unlike the delayed start to Monday’s pre-season running, the second day of pre-season testing got off to a timely and busy start, with several drivers challenging for the top time in the first half hour of the session. Ultimately, however, it was MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor who set the early benchmark. His time of 1:25.304 put him 0.227 seconds clear of Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic.
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s running would be as disrupted as Monday’s. Just 25 minutes into the penultimate pre-season testing session, Trident’s Max Esterson stopped at Turn 2, bringing out the Red Flags. This, would be the first of several Red Flags.
The on-track action soon resumed, after the speedy recovery of Esterson’s car. This time, however, several teams opted to test their runs on the soft tyres. This allowed Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne to claim P1, beating Prema Racing’s Gabriele Minì by just 0.115 seconds. Dunne, however, soon fell to third as Verschoor and teammate Oliver Goethe claimed a 1-2 for MP Motorsport. Verschoor led his teammate by three-tenths to claim the top spot with a 1:24.565.
The duo, however, dropped to a 2-3 as Minì improved. He reclaimed the top spot with a 1:23.709, the first time of the day in the 1:23s. The Italian driver, would not face any immediate challenge for his place at the top of the timesheet. Minutes later, Campos Racing’s Josep María Martí spun into the gravel at Turn 5, stopping proceedings for the second time.
The resumption would see many drivers improving their times, with several setting personal bests. However, none could match Minì who remained clear at the top of the timesheets. AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen was the closest challenger, settling for P2, 0.262 seconds off.
Minì sets fastest time of the day
Minì, however, was not content with his hold on P1. With under 90 minutes left in the session, he improved to 1:23.660, further lowering the benchmark time. ART Grand Prix’s Ritomo Miyata would also improve his time. However, he was forced to settle for P2. His 1:23.730 was 0.7 seconds off Minì’s.
Whether any driver had it in them to properly challenge Minì for that top position would remain unknown, however, as three Red Flags in succession significantly limited running in the closing stages.
Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli was the first to bring out a Red Flag. He found himself beached in the gravel at Turn 5 and required the recovery of his car. DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jake Crawford brought out the second of the three late-stage Red Flags after spinning into the gravel at the final corner. Van Amersfoort Racing’s John Bennett caused the final Red Flag after stopping in Turn 2.
As his car was only cleared after the chequered flag waved, Minì ended the session on top, ahead of Miyata in P2, and Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning in P3. ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins, who topped Monday’s morning pre-season testing session, saw himself in fourth, ahead of Dürksen in fifth. Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad was sixth, ahead of Rodin Motorsport’s Dunne, and his Campos Racing teammate Martí in seventh and eighth respectively. Prema Racing’s Sebastián Montoya was ninth, ahead of MP Motorsport’s Verschoor in 10th.
Goethe tops afternoon session
MP Motorsport again made a fast start to the afternoon session on the second day of F2 pre-season testing. This time, however, it was Goethe, who set the early benchmark. He claimed P1 with a 1:24.372, a tenth ahead of Verschoor who settled for a temporary P2. The MP Motorsport 1-2 would not last, however, as Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic slotted into second with a 1:24.424 that put him within 0.052 of Goethe’s benchmark.
There would be few changes to the top of the timesheets, with teams focusing on long runs. The Red Flags waved, first to allow marshals to remove debris from the racing line at the final corner, and then to allow the recover of Trident’s Sami Meguetounif’s car from the main straight, further limited the afternoon’s action.
Ultimately, Goethe would remain top of the afternoon’s timesheets as the session came to an end, leading Beganovic and Verschoor, who finished the session in P2 and P3 respectively. Invicta Racing’s Roman Staněk was fourth, ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagómez in fifth and the Trident duo of Meguetounif and Esterson in sixth and seventh respectively. Staněk’s teammate, Leonardo Fornaroli, finished eighth, ahead of Rodin Motorsport’s Christian Mansell in ninth. Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning rounded out the top 10 and F2 pre-season testing came to a close in Barcelona.
“A very positive day” – Minì
After pre-season testing, Minì, whose top time of 1:23.660, was the fastest of pre-season testing, described the testing sessions as “very positive” in terms of pace, both over one lap and in the race simulations.
“It was a very positive day. Already yesterday we showed really good pace, P2 in the morning with only one set of tyres and one lap after a long break. And then P2 in the afternoon with what felt like very good potential. We were also fast in the race simulations which was positive.”
“Today again we were very strong straight away on the first set of option tyres. We did a lap time good enough for P1 and then later on I managed to improve it.”
The Italian driver added that Prema Racing has been “working very hard” over the winter break and that he was optimistic after the day’s results.
“So, a very good day. PREMA has been working very hard over the winter, and I have been too.”
“They came up with what seems to be a very good package, so I’m very happy about this. The race simulation was very positive so happy with today.”
While Minì stated that lap time was not a big indicator of a driver’s performance in the upcoming season, he stated that he preferred to be fast.
“It’s a good thing because I know it’s only testing and it doesn’t really matter whether you’re P1 or P22 in the end, but I can tell you that it’s better to be fast.”
However, he added that the team would need to wait until the race weekends to confirm their competitiveness and to confirm that Prema had overcome the challenges that they had suffered in 2024.
“We know that especially here in Barcelona, maybe the race pace was not as good as the qualifying pace, so during the winter we’ve been working quite hard and believe we’ve managed to fix it.
“Now we’ll have to wait until the race weekends to confirm it, but it’s going very well at the moment.”
Minì prioritising relationship with team
Minì also highlighted that his focus was on developing his relationship with his team. He explained that while he worked well with the team, he wanted to continue to learn. He emphasised that the most important part of pre-season testing, for him, has been working well with the team.
“I didn’t really care about our position coming here, I think the thing that matters most is to work well, to learn with the team and get on with them, which we already do.”
“I understand and work well with the team in general, and with my driving. Being fast, it means we’ve done those things well. But even if we’re fast, the most important thing is to work with the team well during these tests.”
