FIA F2 Championship, Jeddah, Sprint Race 1&2 Report
Trident Motorsport experienced a grand debut at the brand new Jeddah street circuit, as the team secured second place with Bent Viscaal at the end of Sprint Race 2. The Dutchman repeated the same result he had previously secured at Monza. Marino Sato did not make it to the points as he was involved in a first-lap contact in Race 1.
On the opening race day for the FIA Formula 2 Championship at the Saudi Arabian Jeddah venue, Trident Motorsport secured an extremely valuable second place with Bent Viscaal in Sprint Race 2. The Dutchman was coming from ninth place in Sprint Race 1, which saw him barely miss the points zone. On the other hand, Marino Sato was hit from behind at the start of the opening run and forced to fight back from the rear of the pack later in the day.
In Sprint Race 1, held in the afternoon, Viscaal started well from the seventh row of the grid, reaching the tail of the pack fighting for the top-10. The racer from Albergen put up a good pace and delivered a clean performance. He avoided any mistake to reach the goal he had set: by ending up in P9, he was able to take off from the front row of Sprint Race 2. As said, Sato was much less lucky. The Japanese racer, who was 17th in qualifying, was rear-ended by another driver in turn 1 and forced to retire with a severely damaged car.
In Sprint Race 2, the Trident Motorsports cars were at the two extremes of the grid, with Viscaal on the front row and Sato on the last one. The driver from the Netherlands lost a couple of spots at the start after attacking the leading car of Daruvala. From that moment, the 22-year-old stayed within the leading pack and completed another flawless race in a remarkable second place. He managed the hard-fought situations to perfection and stayed in close contact with the championship’s frontrunners. For him, it is the second P2 finish of the year after capturing the same result at Monza. On the other hand, Sato paid the price of his lowly starting position, and while he experienced a solid run, he finished outside the top-10. The Trident Motorsport drivers will now be using the data collected to prepare for the Feature Race, scheduled for tomorrow at 17:25 in front of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix crowd.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Qualifying & Race 1 quote:
We are delighted for the result secured by Viscaal. He made a good start and put up a quick race pace while being extremely careful in avoiding potential collisions. His smart approach allowed him to secure P9 and the right to start from the front row in Race 2. Regarding Marino Sato, he was an innocent victim of a first-corner contact as he was punted off by another car and forced to retire. His car was severely damaged in the heavy impact.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Race 2 quote:
We are extremely satisfied with the second place brought home by Viscaal, which followed the P2 he already secured at Monza. This result reflects the team's great performance and Bent’s consistent growth. He stayed in close contact with the leading pack and eventually achieved a well-deserved reward. He managed several wheel-to-wheel battles to perfection while keeping a high race pace. Marino Sato had a solid run as well. Starting from the back, he made the most out of his last-row position on the grid.