Trident and Art GP are the F3 team leaders without victories. Podiums and important points put the two teams at the top of the championship.
Last year, Trident delivered the Formula 3 Champion, while Art Grand Prix only finished 8th in the team standings. This year Trident continues on the same foot. Closely followed by Art GP. The excellent performances in the opening F3 round in Sakhir weekend made them currently the two teams to beat in 2024.
Trident: positive start, but…
Gabriel Bortoleto’s won the drivers’ title, it is certainly not surprising that Trident Motorsport confirmed itself as a competitive team. Certainly, nobody expected it to be on top at the end of the inaugural round. This year’s three car line-up consists of Leonardo Fornaroli and two rookies, Sami Meguetounif and Santiago Ramos. All three felt at ease with the single-seater and managed to get into the top 10. Giacomo Ricci, Trident Team Manager, had this to say:
I think we have a line-up with a good margin for growth this year, but we will have to work with great consistency and determination to be competitive on all tracks.
In Bahrain, Trident showed good single lap speed. Unfortunately Fornaroli missed out on pole position due to a mistake in his final lap. In the races, improvement in tyre management helped Fornaroli deliver good race pace. In the Sprint Race, the Italian driver finished in third place, Meguetounif tenth and Ramos, finished at the back of the field, after a race full of overtaking.
The situation was different in the Feature Race: no podium, but Fornaroli ended the round finishing 4th in the standings, 10 points behind championship leader Luke Browning.
No striking results such as the victory and the pole, but the consistency means that Trident is ready to play this year, aware that the season has just begun and, as the team manager said:
“Having all the cars in the points is certainly a positive result, but we lacked a little more sprint to allow Meguetounif, struggling with degradation, to defend his third place on his debut.“
Art GP: off to a good start
The Art Grand Prix team is coming off fluctuating years in F3. While 2022 had been exceptional thanks to Victor Martins’ F3 Championship title, 2023 was a tumultuous, disappointing year. The French had collapsed at the end of the season, scoring only 11 points in the last nine races.
2024 seems to have brought ART back to the levels of competitiveness of the past. 2 podiums, while fighting for victory in Bahrain. It seems the drivers found the right rhythm and secured important points.
Significant progress was made in qualifying, but difficulties with tyre management compromised both races. In the Sprint Race, Nikola Tsolov dropped out of the top 3 after fighting for victory. Laurens Van Hoepen finished in second place. While Christian Mansell finished 14th.
In the Feature Race, once again, it was the Tsolov who found himself in trouble with the tyres. Although Laurens Van Hoepen also encountered tire management problems. Tsolov and the Australian, however, were far away from the podium. Thankfully for Art GP, Christian Mansell saved the day by driving a great race and ending in second place. A double podium for ART in the first weekend of the F3 season.
ART Grand Prix team manager Sébastien Philippe said:
“Overall, it’s been a very good start to the F3 season. This very good result validates this winter’s project to get the team back on track after a disappointing 2023 in terms of raw results. We’ve reaped the first fruits of our labor, but we still need to make progress to fight for pole position, win again and, above all, stay consistently at the front.”
So it was a good way to start the season, and the project works. As shown, however, Art GP must work to reach the full potential of the single-seater. Only then can the performance remain high, constant. And they can return to winning, the ultimate goal.
🔝 @trident_team lead the way! 👀👇#BahrainGP #F3 pic.twitter.com/rqetL7fb5D
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) March 2, 2024
In Melbourne, Trident and Art GP will have to confirm themselves. Will they make it, or will the other teams come back into play?
