- With one win and two second places in last weekend's races at Imola, Minì (Prema Powerteam) has mathematically secured the title with three races at Vallelunga still to go
- It is the first time that an Italian driver has won the title in seven editions of the championship
The young Italian Gabriele Minì of the Prema Powerteam has won the Italian F4 Championship powered by Abarth 2020 strong of a win and two second places at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola during the penultimate round of the championship of the single-seaters powered by Abarth engines. Minì earned four first places in the 2020 season stepping onto the podium 11 times.
The achievement is even more impressive considering that the young Italian driver, who is a member of the ACI Team Italia program, was a rookie in the championship that saw some 40 drivers from 22 different countries on the start line.
Minì was the fastest at Imola already in the qualifiers so he started from the front row in all three races. Fellow Italians Francesco Pizzi (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Andrea Rosso (CRAM Motorsport), who were his direct contenders in the championship, failed to find the right setup and were forced to settle for starting positions further back on the grid.
Springing from the pole position in Race 1, Minì held the lead from start to finish, showing extraordinary maturity. Behind him, his team-mate Dino Beganovic from Sweden was fighting for second place with American Jak Crawford (Van Amersfoort Racing). The title contenders ended Race 1 at a distance with Pizzi ninth and Rosso eleventh not earning any points.
Minì started in the front row in Race 2 alongside polesitter Beganovic. The race was interrupted by the safety car several times with several cars touching and veering off track. Beganovic kept the lead for the entire race, while Minì successfully held Crawford back and won a second place that allowed him to increase the distance from Pizzi and Rosso, who failed to earn any points at all in the second heat.
Minì was in pole position again in Race 3 with Beganovic at his side. The two kept their respective positions in the first laps until Crawford let loose passing the Swede and then the Italian, who was careful not to make any mistakes that could compromise the conquest of the championship. Crawford finished ahead of Minì and Brit Jonny Edgar (Van Amersfoort Racing), champion of the German FIA ADAC F4 Championship powered by Abarth.
Minì was thrilled and has set his eyes on future goals: "I'm very happy about the title. I would have liked to win Race 3 as well, but I had to think about the championship. The new Formula Regional European Championship certainly looks very interesting for next year, but it will be up to my manager Nicholas Todt to decide on the next steps. I am sure he will give me the best advice".
The Italian F4 Championship powered by Abarth will end in Vallelunga from December 4 to 6. The runners-up are still to be named with Pizzi (191 points) currently in second place, Beganovic third (168) and Rosso fourth (139).
Ranking of the Italian F4 Championship powered by Abarth 1. Gabriele Minì (ITA, Prema Powerteam) 276, 2020 champion; 2. Francesco Pizzi (ITA, Van Amersfoort Racing) 191; 3. Dino Beganovic (SWE, Prema Powerteam) 168; 4. Andrea Rosso (ITA; CRAM Motorsport) 139; 5. Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA, Prema Powerteam) 133.
Turin, November 23, 2020
