After a difficult weekend in Bahrain, Prema Racing collected just four points. Here is what went wrong with the Italian team.
Prema Racing Takes a Step Back in Bahrain
The weekend in Bahrain proved to be quite tricky for Prema Racing.
Since qualifying, the drivers had difficulties on the track and thus did not collect many points in either race. Sebastian Montoya scored zero across the weekend, while only four points were collected from Gabriele Minì.
The team will not give up and is ready to face further rounds, where they hope to improve.
Lack of Pace for Both Prema Drivers in Bahrain
In recent years, the Bahrain circuit has proved to be a difficult weekend for the Italian team.
Beyond this, since the introduction of the new car for 2025, Prema Racing has had some difficulties getting used to it, failing to exploit 100% of its potential.
For instance, last season, Bearman and Antonelli struggled in Sahkir. This year, the outcome is positive for the team, but they come out of the weekend with few points and a lot of work to do to recover.
From qualifying, it became clear that neither driver had the pace to fight with the group in front. Minì, who earned pole position in Australia, qualified twelfth in Bahrain, about eight-tenths from Leonardo Fornaroli on pole. Montoya qualified in eighteenth position, a second behind the first-place driver.
Starting from such a low position can make it difficult to hope for a great outcome in the race.
However, with the right skills and speed, achieving victory is possible. An example is Pepe Martí, who started the Sprint race in eleventh place, finished first and then came in fourth during the race on Sunday.
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Gabriele Minì Tries to Save What’s Possible
Minì tried to collect as many points as possible in a complicated weekend for the team. In the Sprint Race, the team chose a different strategy for the Italian.
Minì had slipped at the bottom of the grid, but thanks to a pit stop and fresher tires, he finished eighth.
He was upgraded to seventh due to Joshua Durksen’s disqualification. While climbing the group, the Prema Racing driver made several impressive overtakes, which allowed him to collect what he could, given their difficulties.
In the feature race, the Italian and his team chose the hard-soft strategy, but it did not pay off during the race.
The degradation experienced by Minì was extreme. So much so, it was enough to convince him to pit with some laps in advance. He finished the race in ninth place.
Sebastian Montoya Fails to Score Points
Sebastian Montoya’s weekend was expected to be uphill following his starting positions.
However, in the Sprint race, he did not have a chance to improve his situation. He was hit by Amaury Cordell and was forced to retire immediately.
In the Feature Race, he started with the soft tires, and his pace seemed close to the group in the points area. However, after the pit stop and with the hard tire, he began to struggle.
He slid down to 19th, where he was not able to improve, scoring zero points all weekend.
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All Eyes on Jeddah
After the disappointing weekend, the drivers and team are looking to change things in Jeddah.
The circuit might be more friendly than Shakir’s. In the Drivers’ standings, Minì is currently tenth, while Montoya is fourteenth. Prema Racing slid to eighth position in the team classification.
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ
Recording Date: 12.04.2025
