Gabriele Mini launched his Formula 2 campaign with a hard-fought victory in a rain-hit Feature Race at the Miami International Autodrome. The Italian led home Dino Beganovic and Rafael Camara after a chaotic afternoon punctuated by multiple interruptions and changing conditions.
In sealing the win, the Alpine junior became one of the first race winners for the series on North American soil, alongside Nikola Tsolov. The result capped a day that demanded patience, precision and opportunism across the field.
Heavy rain earlier on Sunday forced the race to start behind the safety car as drivers assessed grip and visibility. After nearly 10 minutes of circulating, race direction opted for a standing start to finally get the grand prix-distance contest underway.
Polesitter Kush Maini launched cleanly and led the spray-filled charge into Turn 1. Behind, championship leader and sprint winner Tsolov was tipped into a spin after contact from ART’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, triggering an early safety car and a 10-second penalty for the Thai driver.
Further confusion followed when race control instructed the field to pass through the pit lane while Tsolov’s car was cleared. Maini and Camara remained on track, while third-starting Martinius Stenshorne — already carrying a stop-go penalty for a start procedure infringement — led the rest through the pits before the order was reset behind the safety car.
Green-flag running resumed on lap four as Stenshorne peeled off to serve his penalty, but the calm was brief. Oliver Goethe then lost control at Turn 19 and struck the barriers, eliminating the MP driver and prompting a swift intervention, with a subsequent Virtual Safety Car period to clear debris on the start-finish straight.
When the VSC ended at the start of lap seven, Joshua Durksen immediately piled pressure on Invicta teammate Camara for second place. At the same time, DAMS driver Beganovic continued a charge from 11th on the grid, pulling off an assertive move on Mini at Turn 4 to climb to fourth.
Maini initially looked comfortable at the front, lapping roughly a second quicker than Camara and stretching his advantage to around four seconds by the end of lap eight. But in treacherous conditions and amid repeated interruptions, the order evolved as the race wore on.
When the flag fell, it was Mini who emerged on top, managing the late phases to beat Beganovic, with Camara completing the podium. The trio navigated the day’s relentless drama most effectively to bank significant points.
What’s next: With Miami complete, attention turns to how Mini carries this momentum into the next round, how Tsolov responds after his opening-lap setback, and whether teams and officials can avoid a repeat of the pit-lane directive confusion that marked this thriller.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/mini-wins-wet-f2-miami-feature-herta-scores-points). Visit for full coverage.*
