Gabriele Mini claimed victory in the Formula 2 Feature race in Miami under tricky conditions due to a thunderstorm that went over the circuit before the race. After a race marked by yellow flags and Safety Cars, Mini crossed the finish line ahead of Dino Beganovic and Rafael Câmara.
Early chaos ensues
Due to the weather conditions, the Formula 2 Feature race was predicted to be tricky from the beginning. As the lights went out, Câmara had a slow launch as Kush Maini led Martinius Stenshorne into turn 1 as Câmara challenged his teammate Joshua Dürksen, and Gabriele Mini to make up positions.
Meanwhile, further back, the championship leader couldn’t make it to turn 1 and ended up facing the wrong way. In Lap 2, the first Safety Car of the race was deployed as Tsolov’s Campos Racing was being pushed off the track. This event gave the drivers to go into the pitlanes and do the first pitstop, however, it also impeded Stenshorne from serving his stop and go penalty.
As the Safety Car ended in Lap 3, with Maini leading both Invicta, Stenshorne served the penalty. However, a couple of laps later, Oliver Goethe went into the barriers and had heavy damage, stopping on track a couple of turns later. The second yellow flag broke the battle between the Invicta drivers as Dürksen was trying to overtake Câmara for P2.
The Formula 2 Feature race was underway again in Lap 7, and Dürksen immediately overtook Câmara. Meanwhile, Beganovic, who started in P11, went through Mini for P4. Then, the Swedish driver started chasing down the Invicta in front, aiming for a podium position. However, the chaos was far from settled.
And more Safety Cars
From P6, Alexander Dunne locked up as he tried to chase down Mini and ended up on the barriers, which triggered the third yellow flag of the race. As several drivers took their second pitstop, Rafael Villagómez was unable to go back out on track, ending his race.
Dürksen, Colton Herta, and John Bennett were the only ones who opted for an alternative strategy and waited. This pitstop seemed crucial for Câmara as he went out ahead of Maini and was theoretically leading the Formula 2 Feature race.
At this point, the Formula 2 Feature race became a timed session with 24 minutes remaining. Dürksen had a great restart as Herta trailed behind him. Further back, Beganovic made a move on Maini and took P2, but as the back of the grid approached the turn, Stenshorne got hit, and that ultimately put an end to his race. With 20 minutes remaining, another yellow flag was deployed as the car was pushed off the track.
Dürksen, Herta, and Bennett made their last mandatory pitstop under the Safety Car. Câmara retook the lead ahead of Beganovic and Noel León. The Safety Car ended with 16 minutes left as Beganovic put Câmara under relentless pressure. Simultaneously, Mini chased down León for the last step of the podium.
The chase got interrupted by another Safety Car as Cian Shields spun. Drivers were saying the track was drying off, but putting on soft tyres was too much of a gamble, given the way Bennett struggled and had to change immediately before the end of the Safety Car. With 5 minutes remaining, the battle for first got intense.
After an intense and nerve-racking battle, Gabriele Mini crossed the line ahead of Dino Beganovic and Rafael Câmara, claiming the victory of the first Formula 2 Feature race in Miami ever.
Championship standing
Despite not being able to complete the Formula 2 Feature race, Nikola Tsolov is still the Championship leader. However, with his recent victory, Gabriele Mini, as well as Rafael Câmara, are now just one point behind the Bulgarian.
The next round will take place in Canada, and it will be crucial for the three of them. Once again, the Formula 2 will be going to Canada for the first time, and the drivers will have to learn and adapt to the unknown circuit.
