Verschoor claims podium finish after stunning comeback

The Feature Race wrapped up round 9 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship, at Hungaroring, on the outskirts of Budapest, and Trident Motorsport went back to the podium with a third place achieved by Richard Verschoor in an exciting comeback. A qualifying session which saw  Verschoor and Roman Staněk set P10 and P20 respectively required a comeback race for the Trident Motorsport drivers. In the early stages after a clean start, the driver from the Netherlands dropped to P11, while his teammate from the Czech Republic was last. 

Both started with the Prime tyres, a choice that did not pay off in the initial stages due to a safety car that came into play due to contact on lap 7 and that favored drivers starting on Options: they were able to carry out the tyre change during the neutralization. While Verschoor stayed on track with the Prime tyres, an Option set was fitted to Staněk's car. On lap 23, a second safety car reopened the game, allowing Verschoor to pit and deliver a stellar comeback with the Options, eventually securing third place. It was a deserved result for the Dutch driver and the team, rewarded after the disqualification that occurred yesterday following a win in the Sprint Race. Staněk, who paid a hefty price for the double tire change, finished in P11.

Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Feature Race Quote: “We decided to field both our cars with the Prime tyres to attack at the end, but initially we were disadvantaged in our strategy by the entry of the safety car on lap 7 as it initially rewarded those who started on options and were able to stop under the neutralization. Verschoor found himself momentarily in second place, but when he completed the tire change, he inevitably dropped back to the back of the pack. The Dutch driver's race pace was solid, though. After the second safety car, this allowed him to return to the game and grab a well-deserved third place. Roman Staněk made a double stop, as the Softs fitted during the first safety car could not last until the end. For this reason, the Czech driver finished in P11."