PREMA Powerteam, Minì keep winning momentum at Nürburgring

PREMA Powerteam experienced a successful weekend in the second round of the 2020 German Formula 4 Championship. Lining-up for the first outing of their part-time schedule in the ADAC-sanctioned series, the Italian squad confirmed the winning form shown in Misano.

Having won his first-ever race in single-seaters at the Adriatic venue, 15-year-old Gabriele Minì did it all again in race 1 at the Nurburgring, going from pole to win in race 1 and securing two more podium finishes in race 2 and 3 respectively. He also scored a hat-trick in the rookie classification with three wins.

Swede Dino Beganovic delivered a positive qualifying performance, but an early collision in race 1 left him with a damaged front wing which resulted in a DNF. The 16-year-old racer, supported by the Ferrari Driver Academy, stalled at the start of race 2, fighting back to P11. Starting from the same position in race 3, he put up an early recovery to clinch P8.

Sebastian Montoya increased his experience with a double eighth place in race 1 and 2. Unfortunately, starting from the pole of the reverse grid in race 3, he had a tough start with a broken wing that forced him to content with P12.

Gabriel Bortoleto, who was set for his ADAC F4 debut, did not enter the race due to a change in plans. He is expected to be on track for the upcoming test at Zandvoort.

#15 SEBASTIAN MONTOYA

We knew it was going to be hard not having tested here and not knowing the track, so we were just working step by step, little by little to increase the speed, and improve what we had to since Misano. Qualifying 1 was good and then we focused on the second where we struggled in Misano. We got a little bit closer but I made a mistake on my last lap which cost us a bit. In race 1 I had a good start but made a mistake on cold tyres due to the lack of experience. Learning from that was a good step forward. In race 2 the start wasn’t the best but it got us another good step, learning how to manage the tyres behind other people. In race 3 the start was a bit hectic and not what we wanted with the damaged front wing. Also, not the result we wanted, but we keep learning as much as we can.

Qualifying 1: P7

Qualifying 2: P9

Starting Grid Race 1: P7

Starting Grid Race 2: P9

Starting Grid Race 3: P1

Fastest lap: 1’28″023

Fastest lap: 1’28″858

Race 1: P8

Race 2: P8

Race 3: P12

#16 DINO BEGANOVIC

“We had a good qualifying in P3 and P5. The start was really good, went side by side with the leader into turn 1, then, unfortunately, I got a contact in the first lap fighting for P2: I just ran out of room after getting squeezed on the straight. I really couldn’t do anything and lost a bit of my front wing, so we chose to save the tyres for race 2. Then in race 2, I made a big mistake, stalling on the grid, and I was at the back of the field fighting my way up to P11. Then in the last race, the pace was looking good. I went from P11 to P8 at the start but just couldn’t pass the car in front and I finished in the same position. Overall I learned a lot this weekend and it’s less problematic that the setback happened this weekend in Germany instead of Italy so we will come well prepared for the second round of the Italian Championship at Imola.”

Qualifying 1: P3

Qualifying 2: P5

Starting Grid Race 1: P3

Starting Grid Race 2: P5

Starting Grid Race 3: P11

Fastest lap: 1’27″949

Fastest lap: 1’27″769

Race 1: DNF

Race 2: P11

Race 3: P8

#46 GABRIELE MINI

“The weekend has been pretty positive. In qualifying I put a good couple of laps together. In race 1 I started well from the pole and kept the lead. Even after the safety-car wiped up my advantage, I remained in the lead to take the win. In race 2, I didn’t have a fantastic start from P3 but I kept the position and stayed in third place for the whole race. There aren’t many straights here and staying behind is not easy as there are no big chances for overtaking. In race 3, starting from P6, I gained two spots in the opening lap but a mistake in turn 1 dropped me back to P7. I started a good comeback and had fun with all the hard fighting and I ended up in third place.”

Qualifying 1: P1

Qualifying 2: P3

Starting Grid Race 1: P1

Starting Grid Race 2: P3

Starting Grid Race 3: P6

Fastest lap: 1’27″832

Fastest lap: 1’27″674

Race 1: P1

Race 2: P3

Race 3: P3

Source | Photo: PREMA Racing