Formula 2 returns this weekend to Imola to kickstart the first triple header of the 2025 Season. Arvid Lindblad became the youngest F2 winner in history last time out in Saudi Arabia and Richard Verschoor left the Middle East leading the Championship. Pepe Marti and Leonardo Fornaroli are both less than ten points behind him however and there are just six points separating Campos Racing and MP Motorsport in the Teams’ Standings too. With all of this going on, EF1 spoke with PREMA driver Gabriele Mini and Invicta Racing driver Roman Stanek to preview this weekend’s action from Imola.
Gabriele Mini
Gabriele Mini exploded onto the Formula 2 scene last year with a third place finish at his debut race in Baku. But as he enters his first full season in the series this year, he’s been a driver that has proven himself to be a consistent, strategic and confident driver. At just twenty years old, Mini has a mature head on his shoulders and the pressure of being a rookie Formula 2 driver racing for one of the biggest teams in motorsport appears not to phase him. Instead, he’s focused on what he can do and continuing to prove that he deserves to be on the grid.
“Things are not always in our control sadly but as you said, we were quite strong from the first race (last year) and this year, we’re also very strong, so I think we just have to put everything together well and show everyone that the pace is there.” – Gabriele Mini
Mini currently sits in tenth in the Championship with twelve points to his name. But the Italian is one of only four drivers to finish every race so far this year in the points. The other three are the top three drivers currently in the Championship and that’s good company to be in, even if he’s further down the order than he might like. His positioning in the Championship doesn’t worry him though.
“We’ve been quite consistent this season, in the points at least, to be honest, I think that there has not been one thing at fault. I think the team is doing quite a good job to be honest and I’m quite happy with my performance so far. “ – Gabriele Mini
Roman Stanek
Now in his third full season in Formula 2, Stanek sits in twelfth place currently in the standings with eight points. It’s been a rollercoaster season for the Czech driver so far with two fifth place finishes while his other three results have seen him finish outside the points. Stanek cites the lack of putting together a solid overall weekend where everything comes together as where his main struggles lie.
“I would like to put a good race weekend together because there’s always been something, either in the race, or with the tyre degradation, or like the qualifying (crash) in Jeddah for example, it was quite hard for me to move forward. So I’d quite like to have a clean weekend.” – Roman Stanek
Momentum can be difficult to reclaim once its taken away, as the weekend in Jeddah proved – albeit with Stanek still being able to salvage a great fifth place finish in the Sprint race.
Imola, however, is a track that Stanek loves, having won at the iconic venue back in 2022 when he was racing for Trident in Formula 3. He’s also in a comfortable position outside of the car and knows what he wants to get out of this weekend.
“I’m very happy about the team that I have around me because everyone here is pushing me forward and they’ve been very supportive. I just need one good weekend to show the proper speed that I have.” – Roman Stanek
Imola Preview – What can Mini and Stanek do?
Mini and Stanek are drivers very much at different points in their racing careers. But in motorsport, as Formula 2 proves each and every race, anything can happen and a good result in Imola this weekend for either of them could bring them to the fore.
Both drivers are confident in their abilities and are happy with the teams that they have around them outside of the cars. Mental pressure is often the biggest challenge for junior drivers and not having to worry about the goings on outside the cockpit is certainly a large weight off their shoulders. Mini and Stanek just want to keep building their respective positive momentums over the next three race weekends and that’s exactly where their focus is.
Will the Italian or the Czech be able to rise higher in the Championship standings this weekend? We’ll have to tune in and find out.
Photo Credit: James Sutton
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