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QUALIFYING ANALYSIS: TRIDENT’s impressive strategy that got them a 1-2 in Melbourne
TRIDENT’s season got off to a special start, as Rafael Câmara led home Noah Stromsted in a one-two for the Italian team at a wet Melbourne Feature Race.
To make their day even better, all three of their drivers scored points, with Charlie Wurz finishing in sixth place – his second-best result in Formula 3 after his P5 at the same venue and event in 2024.
While the rewards came on Sunday, a huge part of the work was done on Friday by TRIDENT, as all three of their drivers qualified in the top 12.
No other team achieved this, and while their pace was impressive, a bold, yet brilliant, strategy call in Qualifying is what set them apart from the rest. So, here is how they did it...
HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING
TRIDENT had a very good three days of pre-season running in Barcelona, and no doubt would have gone to Melbourne with a lot of confidence.
That belief would not have wavered in Free Practice, especially for Câmara, who went fastest with a 1:34.901 after his first flying lap whilst Stromsted was fourth, 0.293s behind.
The Brazilian improved later on to a 1:34.652 to end the session on top. Stromsted finished in fifth, but had it not been for a Red Flag that brought the 45-minute runout to an early conclusion, he and Wurz might have ended up higher.
So, the pace was there, but now it was about nailing it in Qualifying.
START OF THE SESSION
TRIDENT, like rest of the grid, went out of the pit lane as soon as the green light was shown for Qualifying, leading to a crowded track.
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This caused a lot of traffic and jostling for positions. This affected Câmara on his first flying lap, as having set the fastest times in the first and second sector, he ran into two other cars in the final few corners.
To his credit, and to many peoples surprise, he continued to push instead of aborting his lap and set a respectable time of a 1:36.194 to go to P2, just 0.069s off Roman Bilinski in first.
Stromsted got a cleaner run just moments later though, and went fastest on a 1:35.898, although Wurz was also caught in traffic on his lap that put him up to P6.
TRIDENT then made the decision to bring their drivers into the pit lane after just one lap, while the majority of the field continued on for a second attempt.
THE SECOND LAPS
With less than 15 minutes to go in the session, the majority of the field returned to the pit lane, but this was when TRIDENT sent their drivers out on brand new tyres.
It meant that their next runs would be earlier than the majority of their rivals – as MP Motorsport, having not set a representative time yet in any of their cars, also sent their drivers out at the same time.
This gave them a clearer track, but there are positives and negatives to using this strategy.
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On the one hand, the chances of traffic, and a yellow or Red Flag, impacting your lap is low, meaning you get a cleaner run. But if your lap is affected, you still have time to do another.
However, the downside is that you also will not get the best track conditions, as this will almost always come towards the end of the session.
But it was a calculated risk both teams were willing to take, and is something they have done before, most notably in Imola last year. TRIDENT on that occasion sealed a 1-2-3 in Qualifying, and they almost did the same this weekend.
Câmara, having been affected by traffic on his first lap, rocketed to the top of the leaderboard on his next attempt. His 1:34.999, which ended being the pole-sealing time, put him half a second clear out in front of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Théophile Nael.
Wurz completed his lap to go to fifth, but was pushed down to sixth by Stromsted, who went up to second, just 0.129s off his teammate’s pole time.
PROVEN RIGHT
Just as the Dane finished his lap, the rest of the field came out, and this is where TRIDENT will have been holding their breath.
FEATURE RACE: Câmara in control for maiden F3 victory in Melbourne
While they had gotten clean runs, the best track conditions were to come, and there were a few drivers already setting some very fast sector times.
But then we had the first Red Flag caused by Brando Badoer hitting the barrier at Turn 2 with five minutes 20 seconds left in Qualifying.
There was still time for another lap when they came back out, but then Christian Ho stopped on track with less than three minutes to go.
However, with little time remaining, the Stewards decided not to resume the session. As a result, many drivers could not get their final laps in, and it proved TRIDENT’s decision to set their best times earlier on a clear track, correct.
Speaking about their strategy in Qualifying, TRIDENT Team Manager Giacomo Ricci said: “I think in Qualifying, one thing that made a big difference was how we ran Qualifying.
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“It was completely different compared to the others, we ran a different strategy, and I think also on this side, of course I always include the engineers, we did a good job.
“Myself, I always try to play safe, that's why we decided to run in the gap in the middle, and this was the end result, we had a bigger gap.”
That decision put them at the front for the Feature Race where they achieved a one-two finish. So, this begs the question, as to whether we will see more teams use this strategy this season, as it has proven to be very effective.