Monza, a great comeback race not enough to defend team leadership
The Feature Race that closed out the FIA Formula 3 Championship season, held on the legendary Monza circuit, ended with Trident Motorsport taking the title of Team Vice-Champion of the series. The drivers of the team based in Ossona led a dramatic comeback race after a far from easy qualifying session.
The race, full of twists and turns and incidents, was interrupted by three safety cars that disrupted the pace. Forced to start in the secon half of the grid, the race immediately appeared to be an uphill battle for the Trident Motorsport drivers. Among the protagonists of Saturday's Sprint Race, Charlie Wurz was forced to give up immediately today. Starting from fifteenth on the grid, the Austrian driver ended his race after just a few meters when he was involved in a collision with an opponent.
Attention then turned to the other Trident Motorsport drivers, Noah Strømsted, who started from the nineteenth spot on the grid, and newly crowned FIA Formula 3 Championship champion Rafael Câmara, who was forced to start from the back of the grid. Both drivers for the team based in Ossona near Milan, delivered solid races, mounting a comeback that landed them in the points by halfway through the race.
In particular, the twenty-year-old Brazilian Ferrari Driver Academy driver fought until the very end to try to say farewell to the series by reaching the podium at Monza. Câmara took a few risks, but despite his best efforts, he managed to secure a brilliant fifth place at the checkered flag.
Behind the Brazilian was his teammate Noah Strømsted. The seventeen-year-old Dane also showed no reserve throughout the race. Taking advantage of the various restarts following the neutralizations, Strømsted won several close battles to climb to sixth place.
The drivers' performance, however, wasn't enough to secure the final FIA Formula 3 Championship standings. Trident Motorsport missed out on the Teams' title by just eleven points. This final result certainly doesn't tarnish the splendid season enjoyed by the Italian team, which, for the third consecutive year, confirmed its lead in the drivers' championship.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager: “We had an uphill battle ahead of us after Rafael Câmara's pole position was cancelled. The Brazilian driver and Noah Strømsted's superb comebacks weren’t enough. Campos Racing capitalized on the advantage and secured the Teams' championship. Our congratulations to them. Charlie Wurz's retirement due to an accident early in the race was another incident that certainly didn't help us.”