Trident scores points straight away with Laurens Van Hoepen
The FIA Formula 2 Championship kicked off its season opener at Melbourne's semi-permanent Albert Park circuit, with the drivers of the junior category competing in the Sprint Race. Trident Motorsport's qualifying session proved promising: Laurens Van Hoepen missed out on the tenth fastest time by just 23 thousandths, while John Bennett had to settle for seventeenth.
Starting from eleventh on the grid, Van Hoepen immediately gained two positions. However, the 20-year-old Dutchman made a small mistake on the third lap, running wide in the escape route. Having slipped to eleventh, the Trident Motorsport driver remained undaunted, embarking on a consistent comeback.
With a pace worthy of the best on track, Van Hoepen then climbed through the order, moving into the points zone before the safety car, which came out at the end of lap 15. The restart, which took place on lap 19, saw the Dutchman move up to eighth place, thus securing a point-scoring finish. The Dutchman eventually crossed the finish line in seventh place, earning Trident Motorsport its first points of the season.
Starting in the middle of the pack, Bennett was unable to clear traffic. The twenty-two-year-old Brit from Salisbury also lost a couple of positions. Nevertheless, thanks to a solid and consistent pace, Bennett managed to make up ground, moving up to seventeenth place.
Unlike his rivals, the Trident Motorsport garage did not call the Englishman for a tire change during the safety car. This decision proved to be a good one, as Bennett found himself fourteenth at the restart. He then held off the attacks, finishing in a positive fifteenth place, which bodes well for the Feature Race.
The Trident Motorsport technical staff, together with the drivers, will analyze the data collected in the Sprint Race as part of their usual preparation for the weekend's main race, scheduled for tomorrow at 11:25 a.m. local time (GMT +10), a few hours before the Australian Grand Prix.
Giacomo Ricci: "After a positive qualifying, the first race held at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit gave us a promising result for the season that has just begun. Thanks to a solid race, Van Hoepenmanaged to move up the order to seventh place. Bennett also showed solid pace at times. The drivers made no mistakes and allowed us to collect further data that gives us a good head start on tomorrow's Feature Race."