Sami Meguetounif on his 2024 Season: Late-season surge

25 October 2024

Eighth in the Drivers’ Championship was an acceptable end for Sami Meguetounif after a late-season reversal in fortunes lifted him into the top 10.

The Trident driver had suffered a mid-season crisis of luck and confidence that had propelled him to an early victory around Imola in Round 3 of the season.

Reflecting on his rookie campaign, the Frenchman admitted that it was a lack of consistency that ultimately prevented him from a top five finish in the Standings.

“I'm satisfied, but at the same time, I have a bit of regret about my lack of consistency. I know looking at my potential that I could have done better.

“I don't know if it's a reason, but the mistake that I did in Barcelona in the Sprint Race put me in the wrong loop for like three rounds. And unfortunately, it was the races that were in a row: Barcelona, Silverstone, Red Bull Ring and Budapest.

“I don't know if it’s a link or not, but after that mistake, I spent like three rounds getting a lot of bad luck or being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and in those four rounds, including my mistake in Barcelona, I lost so many points.

“What I regret is that in those four rounds, I always had the speed that I had in Monza or Imola, so that’s hard to accept. It's such a tight Championship that doing those three, four races out of big points-paying positions means you’re out of the title fight straight away.”

Meguetounif says that it was a tough spell for him, with his three top 10 finishes in the opening three rounds giving way to a streak of three scores in the following nine.

Meguetounif got his first win around Imola but endured a tough spell in the middle of the year

However, the break after Budapest gave him time to look back on the preceding months and put right what he felt had prevented better results, and he was back on form in Spa and Monza.

“Before Spa, we had a bit of a break that that helped me a bit to come back to a bit more serenity. I also had time also to analyse what happened, to understand what my mistakes were or what were the things that I had no control over.

“Sometimes you want to be harsh on yourself, but sometimes it’s not your fault at all - to try to be guilty of something that’s not your fault is not positive for you. Sometimes you need to accept that it’s just life and you couldn't do anything. Trident really taught me this year to focus on the basics, and then the rest will come.

“Spa - I finally had a weekend without bad luck or something that could put me out of points. I think I had a good weekend overall, with very good speed, good overtakes and if the Feature Race had fewer Safety Cars, I'm sure I could have fought for a podium - I was up there all weekend.

“Then in Monza, I won, and this helped me a lot to finish the season strongly. For my mind, also for the sponsors, for the Championship classification, it was the best way and exactly what I needed to finish the Championship.”

After his early victory in Imola, the Trident driver says that it was a weight on his shoulders that he hadn’t been on the podium since then.

Three top five results in a row to round out his rookie season was the perfect antidote he says. His victory was made all the sweeter as teammates Santiago Ramos earned a podium in the Sprint, and Leonardo Fornaroli secured the 2024 title in the Feature.

The Trident driver says the summer break came at the right time and he readjusted for the final rounds

“Honestly, it was a day where I had a bit of pressure as well. I heard a lot of people saying since I had no pressure of the Championship it was easy, and I just had to take more risks.

“I actually had a lot of pressure because at that stage of the season, I was missing. I was missing something to convince people that my season was quite good.

“My win in Imola was far in the past and I had too many off weekends after that. So, I really, really, really needed it, as much as the title contenders needed the title. I had the target of top 10 in the Championship, so I had to perform.

“I'm very happy that in the Sprint Race, I managed to keep things clean. Also on the last lap, I had a fight with my teammate. He was on the podium, and I was happy for him because honestly, the mistake I did in Barcelona, I had something to give back to Santiago.”

Talking more in depth about the emotions he had after his second win on a momentous day for the team, he admits there were mixed feelings on the cool down lap.

“To share the happiness of my win, the release of the pressure that I had on my shoulders, and the satisfaction of saying, ‘Okay, I’d needed to do well in Monza, and I did the best result possible’, it was like what comes next in life will be. At the same time, I was sharing the happiness with Leo after he’d won the title.

“So that win was even more special, to share with the team in the last moment together of the year, I will remember it forever, and I'm happy that every team member got to share in my win and Leo’s title.

He was in fine form around Monza for the final race of the year as he claimed win number two

“I was super sad on that day, to know that it was the end of the of the season, the end of our work together. But at the same time, it was the best way to finish, as I said on the radio afterwards.”

Meguetounif says he has learned plenty from 2024 and while he was disappointed to have missed out on a better result in the Championship, he says that his toughest moments turned out to be a hugely important factor in his late-season improvement in form.

“I learned a lot technically, Trident and my engineer helped me with the details. But I think what I learned most from was my mistake in Melbourne in quali, where I crashed the car on the last lap.

“That one was hard to accept, because I threw away a very good weekend and I had to start at the back, but I don't regret it. I think I really took it as a lesson, and I think it helped me a lot for the rest of the season.

“I can have regrets about the lost points but honestly, it was a mistake that I did, because I'm a demanding guy. Even though it was my second race on the track that I didn’t know, I wanted to do well, and to push the limits. The result was not there, but I really used it to understand my approach in Formula 3.

“Sometimes it's better to finish the lap and qualify fifth rather than trying a magic pole lap and not completing it. Also learning from Leo, he was always there. Sometimes he was not doing something magical or taking some super risks, but he was always there, and it's something that I'm trying to take for my future.”