Important haul for Trident at Mugello

With the two E4 of Vallelunga and Le Castellet over, the Italian Formula 4 championship returned to the spotlight, as Mugello hoste the fourth round of the season. Trident Motorsport, with its usual lineup of Florentin Hattemer, Bernardo Bernoldi, Augustus Toniolo, Dominik Šimek, and Lyuboslav Ruykov, delivered its best weekend of the season in terms of performance and track speed.

In the first qualifying heat, Hattemer finished sixth, while in the second heat, Šimek finished fifth, Toniolo ninth ahead of Bernoldi, and Ruykov in 16th.

Divided into the standard three groups, the first race saw Groups B and C compete. Hattemer, starting from the third row, lost a position to seventh, but regained it following a penalty. Toniolo remained 12th, Ruykov, 15th, collecting the final point, and Bernoldi finished no higher than 19th.

Šimek's Group A, along with Group B, ran the second race. Dominik, ninth, confirmed his good form by crossing the finish line ahead of Hattemer; Ruykov was further back.

In the third race (A/C), variable track conditions prompted Šimek to gamble on rain. The decision paid dividends, as the 2009-born driver even rose to first place; then, the track gradually dried out, but a late safety car still allowed the Czech driver to secure fifth place, his best result of the season. Augustus Toniolo finished fourteenth.

The sum of these placings guaranteed all our drivers a spot in the final race. Even on a completely dry track, Šimek (11th) made his mark, proving to be the team's fastest driver. Hattemer (19th) failed to fully exploit his potential, while Toniolo finished 25th and Bernoldi 29th. A spectacuar crash in the early stages prevented Ruykov from seeing the checkered flag.

The next round of the season is scheduled at Imola on the weekend of September 6th.