Very close to the podium with De Palo and Strømsted
The FIA Formula 3 Championship returned to the historic Silverstone circuit, home this weekend to the fifth round of the series. In a closely contested qualifying session, the Trident Motorsport drivers enjoyed a positive session at the Northamptonshire circuit.
Freddie Slater took his first pole position in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in front of his home crowd. Rookie Matteo De Palo achieved his best qualifying of the season. The 18-year-old from Rome posted the fifth fastest time, ahead of teammate Noah Strømsted, who was seventh at the end of the qualifying session.
Due to the top twelve qualifying positions reversed on the Sprint Race grid, Strømsted started from sixth place, ahead of teammate De Palo, who was eighth on the grid. Poleman and local hero Slater was twelfth.
As soon as the lights went out, the Trident Motorsport drivers made an immediate impact. Noah Strømsted gained a spot, moving up to fifth, but Matteo De Palo did even better, climbing to sixth.
The two drivers for the Milan-based team with headquarters in Ossona continued in each other's wake for much of the race, climbing the standings until they were just outside the podium.
The Sprint Race heated up in the final laps, with Noah Strømsted taking third place, followed by Matteo De Palo. The two put on a spectacular show on the English Silverstone circuit in a fiery finale, with Matteo De Palo only losing third place in the final meters, after a long battle for second place.
The ACI Team Italia driver narrowly edged out teammate Noah Strømsted, who finished fifth at the end of a very intense race.
Freddie Slater put in a great comeback. The Audi Junior Driver thrilled the home crowd with a consistent and incisive progression. Starting from twelfth on the grid, the seventeen-year-old Englishman finished the Sprint Race in seventh place.
Slater now occupies second place in the overall FIA Formula 3 Championship driver standings, while Trident Motorsport holds onto second place in the Team standings.
The Trident Motorsport drivers will now analyze today's events with the technical staff as they prepare for the Feature Race, scheduled for tomorrow at 8:25 a.m. local time (GMT +1).
Giacomo Ricci: “It was a very close Sprint Race, with the finale remaining wide open right to the end. Matteo De Palo and Noah Strømsted fought hard to make up positions and fight for the podium. The drivers just lacked a bit of composure in the heated closing stages to achieve a better result. Our cars all proved competitive. Freddie Slater's comeback was also impressive, climbing the standings to seventh place. Now we need to be fully focused on preparing for tomorrow's Feature Race, which is very important for the standings.”