– Will Formula 2 driver Gabriele Mini get a Formula 1 chance at Alpine in 2027? The French racing team has not yet announced who will take the second seat alongside Pierre Gasly in the upcoming season, so speculation about who will get the nod continues.
Read more Max Verstappen: Can still drive in Zandvoort — just not F1
Currently, regular driver Franco Colapinto is considered the favorite for the cockpit, as he has significantly improved after a weak 2025 season. Nevertheless, other drivers are also pushing for their chance, including 21-year-old Gabriele Mini.
The Italian, who is part of Alpine’s junior program, is positioning himself in Formula 2 this year and is fighting for the championship title against Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov and Ferrari junior Rafael Camara.
“Of course, they are quite happy and satisfied,” Mini emphasizes to fiaformula2.com about Alpine’s feedback. The reward is an increasingly intensive involvement in the team: Mini often works in the simulator and was allowed to do test drives in an older car at Silverstone last month.
More consistency than speed
There may still be appearances as a Friday driver this season, as Alpine still has to let a rookie drive in the first practice three more times (for overview). The path to a regular Formula 1 cockpit is still a long one, but Mini knows he is on the right track in Formula 2. “If you do well there, you should theoretically have a chance,” he says.
Mini is indeed doing well this season, even though he knows that he and his MP team shine more with consistency than with pure pace: He has not yet achieved a pole position this year – Camara, by comparison, already has four – and in terms of wins, he is clearly behind with two compared to Tsolov’s six.
Photo gallery: The most promising juniors of the Formula 1 teams 2026
Nevertheless, he says he is “quite satisfied” with his performance so far. “I know that both my team and I are working very hard to find even more pace and to be as consistent as possible in everything.”
Read more After twelve years: Swiss Sebastien Buemi leaves Formula E
Of course, he is also aware that a good performance in Formula 2 does not automatically mean a jump to Formula 1. “But the chances are better than if you are performing poorly.”
With the championship title into Formula 1?
In addition, he is ahead in the championship of the other two Alpine juniors Alexander Dunne and Kush Maini, although he does not see these two as his only rivals: “Every driver here could theoretically be part of the Alpine squad, but in the end, it still has to be me who wins,” says Mini.
“Even if I were the only junior driver Alpine has, and I have a bad F2 year, I won’t move up.” Meaning: Mini absolutely wants to win the championship title – currently, however, he is 20 points behind Tsolov.
Photo gallery: Formula 1 drivers who made their debut at Alpine/Renault
If the promotion does not work out, Mini has to wait and see what plans his management and Alpine have for him. However, he does not see himself under greater pressure, as he has had to fight to stay in the sport throughout his entire career.
“There was not a single year when I could afford to be bad. You have to show the necessary speed every year to even earn the next year,” he says. “If I had a bad first year in F3, it would have been my very last race ever. I wouldn’t have gotten a second year.”
Mini has overcome these hurdles so far. However, the biggest one towards Formula 1 still awaits him.
Read more Before Cadillac choice: Budkowski spoke with «more than half» of the F1 teams
