FIA F3 Championship, Mugello, Race One Report

In Race 1 held at the Tuscan track, Team Trident barely missed the podium. Zendeli finished fourth, while Beckmann took the eight place. Caldwell ended up in the middle of the pack. 
 
In the opening race of the ninth and final round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, scheduled at the scenic Mugello venue, Team Trident drivers Lirim Zendeli and David Beckmann experienced a tight run and ended up in P4 and P8 respectively. The Italian facility delivered a spectacular race, full of passing and surprises. The thermal degradation of the tires, and specific race episodes, were a key component in shaping up the results. 
Lirim Zendeli, who started from pole position, had a great launch at the start and led the opening phase. In the second part of Race 1 though, the 20-year-old German began to suffer from thermal degradation problems that impacted his pace. During the final lap, Zendeli eventually lost third place to a rival. The fast driver from Bochum had one more satisfaction by adding the fastest lap of the day to Saturday’s pole. In the first part of the race, Beckmann was particularly impressive. He delivered a decent start, but made a mistake and was caught by the cars he had behind. Olli Caldwell's performance was conditioned by the outcome of qualifying, which forced the talented British driver to race in the middle of the pack. The 18-year-old gained one spot compared to his P18 on the grid. The data collected in Race 1 will now be the base of the preparation work by the drivers and their technical staff for Race 2, which is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10:30. The main goal will be to secure second place in the team ranking. 
 
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager:

"We are not completely satisfied with the performance of today's race. I think we had the potential needed to win with Lirim Zendeli. Unfortunately, he did not manage the tire degradation according to the indications of the pit wall, he attacked too much at the beginning and, as a consequence, suffered heavy degradation in the final stages. After a good start, Beckmann made a mistake and was swallowed by the pack of cars that were chasing him. Caldwell delivered a linear race in the middle of the pack, conditioned by the outcome of qualifying. The goal for tomorrow’s final race in second place in the team classification."