PREMA Powerteam, Gabriele Minì take championship lead in Austria

PREMA Powerteam enjoyed a successful weekend at Spielberg, lining-up at the Austrian Grand Prix venue for the third round of the Italian Formula 4 Championship. Gabriele Minì exits the event with a hefty lead in the overall driver championship thanks to a triple podium finish including one win. The Italian was both fast and smart, taking the best possible results while not risking valuable points. After scoring P2 and P3 in the first two races respectively, he signed off the weekend with a great win, leading from start to finish. 

Dino Beganovic claimed a rookie podium after showing high potential in qualifying. The Swede posted P5 overall in race 2 and generally had plenty of speed, ending the weekend with more points in his bag for race 3. Gabriel Bortoleto took a positive top-5 in qualifying 1 and gained two seventh-place finishes which brought him good points as well. In race 3, contact with teammate Sebastian Montoya forced him to recover from the back. Montoya, on the other hand, had an improving weekend. The Colombian took P9 in race 1 and P7 in race 3, showing promising pace especially in traffic.

#6   Sebastian Montoya

"In the first two days we struggled a bit and in free practice it was quite difficult. We were missing the speed we had in the test. We knew we were going to be strong and in race 1 we made a good recovery. We gained good positions and scored points for the championship which is quite good. In race 2 I was racing my way into the pack and contact put me out. In race 3 unfortunately I made contact in T1 but then we showed the speed we had in traffic. In the end we made a good recovery but I think we can make a bit better job in generel throughout the whole weekend. We'll keep improving and keep working."

Qualifying 1: P13                      Fastest lap: 1'32"006

Qualifying 2: P12                      Fastest lap: 1'31"094

Starting Grid Race 1: P13          Race 1: P9

Starting Grid Race 2: P12          Race 2: DNF

Starting Grid Race 3: P11          Race 3: P7

#7   Dino Beganovic

"Q1 could have been better, I just made a mistake but it would have been top-5 for sure. Q2 was a little better with P4 and P3, I was happy with those positions. In race 1 we had bad luck as we were hit and had damage the whole race so it was quite tough for us. Race 2 was a bit better. I still have to work on the first couple of laps but I scored P5 and third among rookies. In race 3 we were very fast again, the speed is for sure there and we need to take every opportunity."

Qualifying 1: P7                      Fastest lap: 1'31"479

Qualifying 2: P4                      Fastest lap: 1'30"950

Starting Grid Race 1: P7          Race 1: P11

Starting Grid Race 2: P4          Race 2: P5

Starting Grid Race 3: P3          Race 3: P8

#46   Gabriele Minì

"We managed to find a good balance with the car since practice. We had to perfect it but we found a good set-up compromise. I managed to take second in Q1 and do two great laps to start on pole for race 2 and 3.  In race 1 the start wasn't perfect but I kept my position. I didn't have enough pace to fight for P1 so I ended up in second place. In Race 2 I had a better start but I was passed by three cars in one corner to avoid a costly contact. From that point on, I recovered and moved up to P3 which was the maximum. In race 3 I had a great start again and kept P1, fending off the attacks of the other drivers. Durksen got closer and closer so I pushed even harder. I was on the absolute limit but stayed in the lead to take the win."

Qualifying 1: P2                     Fastest lap: 1'31"092

Qualifying 2: P1                     Fastest lap: 1'30"579

Starting Grid Race 1: P2         Race 1: P2

Starting Grid Race 2: P1         Race 2: P3

Starting Grid Race 3: P1         Race 3: P1

#85   Gabriel Bortoleto

"Qualifying was good and we took P5 for the first race and P9 and P10 for the other two. In the first race I was a bit struggling in sector 2 but it was good in general. We improved a bit both in terms of the car and my driving. The second race was a good one, we finished P7 despite being a little held up at the beginning so we lost the cars in front and the chances to score the top-5. In race 3, contact took me out of the battle in the first corner. We dropped back to P26 but we had great battles and overtakes although we didn't score points in the end."

Qualifying 1: P5                     Fastest lap: 1'31"336

Qualifying 2: P10                   Fastest lap: 1'31"362

Starting Grid Race 1: P5         Race 1: P7

Starting Grid Race 2: P10       Race 2: P7

Starting Grid Race 3: P10       Race 3: P13