Toniolo just shy of the podium at Misano
The penultimate round of the Italian Formula 4 season at the Misano circuit saw the Trident team return to fielding five cars: in addition to the four Tatuus cars for Beco Bernoldi, Florentin Hattemer, Augustus Toniolo, and Dominik Šimek, the Ossona-based team fielded the #77 car with Lucas Pasquinetti.
On Friday, characterized by bad weather, the team proved its ability to find the right setups and balance, as Hattemer set the second fastest time in the second qualifying session, with Toniolo seventh, Šimek eighth, and Pasquinetti 24th. Bernoldi finished fifteenth in the first qualifying session.
In race one, Hattemer was in contention for the podium, but contact with an opponent forced him to retire. Bernoldi also retired for the same reason, with Šimek finishing no better than 21st and Pasquinetti a solid 18th.
In the second race, Toniolo showed to be in a very good shape since the beginning; then, he capitalized on the incident at the front to climb just outside the podium. This fourth pace was an excellent result for the Brazilian, the best of his still-young single-seater career, which has continued to improve over the past two rounds. Pasquinetti took the checkered flag in 25th place.
In race 3, after winning a couple of on-track battles, Toniolo followed up his excellent performance in race 2 by finishing fifth. Hattemer, seventh, and Šimek, eighth, also had a smooth race, unlike Bernoldi, who was forced to retire again and failed to qualify for the final race.
The final saw Toniolo start fourth, Hattemer 17th, Šimek 19th, and Pasquinetti 36th and the last of the qualified. During the race, Toniolo lost a few positions, eventually finishing seventh, while Hattemer made his mark, narrowly missing out on the points. Retired due to a final-lap accident, Šimek was hovering around 20th; finally, Pasquinetti, who stayed out of trouble for the third consecutive race, was satisfied with a 28th-place finish.
The next and final round of the championship is scheduled at Mugello on the weekend of November 1st.