Trident Motorsport out of the points in the final race in Bahrain

The running of the Feature Race wrapped up the opening round of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship, taking place on the sunny but windy Sakhir track. Trident Motorsport missed out on the points zone as two  safety cars, the second in particular, influenced the fate of the drivers who were fighting in the middle of the pack. The second interruption, which occurred when all the drivers had already completed the tire change, regrouped the competitors and favored those who had chosen the strategy of finishing the Feature Race on the soft tyres, the Options. Richard Verschoor, who was in fifth place, having the least performing hard tyres, the Primes, was sucked into the pack and thus lost the points zone. The Dutchman driver also received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Roman Staněk, on the other hand, paid the price for a lackluster qualifying session, in which he was unable to go beyond the P20. Despite being on the right strategy, with Option tires in the final phase, Staněk's comeback ended in P13, ahead of teammate Verschoor who was starting in P16. The series will be back in action next weekend in Jeddah, on a city track with a unique layout, open to any result.

Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Feature Race, quote: “In today's Feature Race we opted for a different strategy for the two drivers. Roman Staněk started with the Prime tyres, then moved on to the Options. Richard Verschoor, however, started with the Options and put the Primes on when changing tires. The second safety car, after all the drivers had already made their stops, regrouped the cars on the track and made it easier for those with the Option tyres, the soft ones, to slice through the pack. Verschoor, who was in fifth place, was swallowed into the group and missed out on the points. Staněk, however, recovered some positions towards the end but was unable to enter the top ten. Overall, we still have to work on the new car to find the optimal set-up."