Madrid, another podium with Laurens Van Hoepen
The FIA Formula 2 Championship kicked off its eleventh round of the season on the new Madring track, with today's Sprint Race featuring the drivers of the junior category. Trident Motorsport delivered a positive race, culminating in Laurens Van Hoepen's third-place finish, bringing the Milanese team, based in Ossona, back to the Madrid podium.
Qualifying was particularly challenging, with the session interrupted three times by the red flag. Bennett was also involved in one of the incidents that led to the interruptions, crashing into the barrier while improving his time. Van Hoepen, however, posted the seventh-fastest time, allowing him to start from fourth on the grid thanks to the inversion of the top ten.
When the lights went out, Van Hoepen made an excellent start. Starting on Soft tires, the Dutchman held onto fourth place, staying close to the leading group. Bennett, however, was caught in the first corner tangle, suffering damage that forced him to pit on lap two.
The work of Trident Motorsport's mechanics allowed Bennett to return to the track after a long stop, but the Briton was unable to continue his race. After remaining on track until lap five, he was forced to retire.
Meanwhile, Van Hoepen continued to hold fourth place, displaying a competitive pace and beginning to put pressure on the rivals ahead of him. On lap seven, the 21-year-old Dutchman attempted to attack for third place but was forced to give up.
Two laps later, Van Hoepen broke the deadlock, completing the overtaking move and moving into third place, though he was immediately passed. The 21-year-old Dutchman, however, refused to give up, and on lap 11 he managed to move back into third place, beginning a phase of the race in which he had to defend himself from his pursuers while also trying to close in on the top two.
The pace of the race was once again affected by the deployment of the Safety Car. This neutralization brought the group back together, setting up an intense finale. At the restart on lap 18, Van Hoepen successfully defended third place.
In the final laps, the Trident Motorsport driver continued to push for second place. Van Hoepen attempted several times to close in on the challengers, but was unable to complete the overtaking move.
Third place thus remained in his grasp until the checkered flag, allowing him to secure another important podium for Trident Motorsport to add another podium to its season tally. The technical staff will now focus on analyzing the data collected in the Sprint Race ahead of the Feature Race, where the team will aim to confirm the competitiveness shown today.
Giacomo Ricci: “It was a positive Sprint Race thanks to Laurens Van Hoepen's third-place finish. He ran a very solid race, fighting with great determination for the podium. He managed to secure third place and defended it very well until the checkered flag. It was a shame for John Bennett, however, who was involved in the first-corner accident and, despite the excellent work of our mechanics to get him back on track, was forced to retire. We will now analyze the Sprint Race data to best prepare for the Feature Race and try to finish the weekend with another competitive performance.”