Trident secures P9 with Fornaroli

The Feature Race of the FIA Formula 3 Championship held at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, was a spectacular one and tough to manage for the Trident Motorsport drivers, forced to recover after a qualifying session below expectations. 

The Ossona-based squad saw Leonardo Fornaroli start from P24, while Santiago Ramos took off from P15, one position in front of Sami Meguetounif, who had handed Trident Motorsport the only point achieved in the Sprint Race. The start of the Feature Race was exciting, with Meguetounif completing the first lap in P15, Ramos in P20, and Fornaroli in P22. The Frenchman then lost position due to a trip through the gravel, falling to P16 on lap 10. 

Meanwhile, Fornaroli had already climbed up to P17, making the most of the collisions involving some drivers ahead of him. In the rest of the Feature Race, the 19-year-old from Piacenza put up a tremendous comeback with a long series of passes that led him up to an unexpected ninth place. He was able to improve his ranking in a weekend jeopardized by the disappointing outcome of qualifying.

Meguetounif dropped to P20 due to a five-second penalty for a track limit violation, while Santiago Ramos took P13. His ninth place did not allow Leonardo Fornaroli to hold onto the championship lead, and he's now third behind Browning and Minì. 

FIA F3 will feature no breaks. The next round of the 2024 season is scheduled for next weekend at Silverstone.

Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Feature Race Quote:“As happened yesterday, only one of our cars finished in the points. Fornaroli made a solid comeback from P24 to P9. This is a remarkable result, considering the competitive level of the category, but it also leaves a sour taste in our mouths, given the potential he showed. With a better qualifying, we would have left Austria with a much better balance. Fornaroli showed a solid race pace, but his tires were at their limit in the end. The final placing of Meguetounif was affected by a penalty, while Ramos concluded a very hard-fought race in P13."