Fierce duel in the desert for the Trident Motorsport drivers

The FIA Formula 2 Championship kicked off its thirteenth round of the season at the Lusail circuit, in the outskirts of the Qatari capital Doha, with the Sprint Race on stage today. Due to their little experience in the category, Trident Motorsport drivers James Wharton and Laurens Van Hoepen posted the twenty-first and twenty-second fastest times, respectively, in the qualifying session.

At the start, the two drivers of the Milanese team, with headquarters in Ossona, immediately tried to make up ground, with Wharton locking up while attempting to pass his teammate Van Hoepen. The latter, who already performed well in the Baku weekend, prevailed, climbing to twentieth place, followed by his teammate.

The Trident Motorsport drivers engaged in an intense duel until a misunderstanding on lap 14 led to contact between the two. Wharton was the one who came off worst, forced to retire with a bent front right suspension arm. Stuck in the run-off area of Turn 1, race officials called for the safety car to remove the Australian's car.

Van Hoepen continued, choosing, unlike some of his rivals, not to pit. The Dutchman therefore crossed the finish line of the Sprint Race in 19th place. The Trident Motorsport drivers will now analyze the data collected from today's race as they prepare for tomorrow's Feature Race. The longer race, which includes a mandatory tire change, will also allow the technical staff to play the strategy card to aim for the points.

Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager: "Today's result was influenced by the outcome of qualifying. Our driverss were forced to start from the back and fight their way up the order, taking risks. Contact between Laurens Van Hoepen and James Wharton caused the Australian to retire, with a broken suspension. Van Hoepen finished far from the points. We'll give it our all to achieve a better result tomorrow in the Feature Race, where different strategies could give our racers a better chance of moving up the order."