TRIDENT Team Manager Ricci ready for chaotic Qualifying after topping Practice

It was a great start to the second race weekend of 2025 for TRIDENT as Rafael Câmara led the field in Free Practice in Sakhir.

The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent saved a 1:50.984 for the final minutes of a quiet session, mostly due to teams opting to run when conditions were optimal.

TRIDENT Team Manager Giacomo Ricci explained after the session what the teams were thinking, why running later in the session was preferable, and also why things won’t be the same come Qualifying.

“As always here, the degradation is so high that you have to wait until the end of the session for when the track gets a little bit better.

“I know that maybe from TV it’s difficult to understand these things, but during the race weekend, we are limited on the number of tyre sets we get. So, around an abrasive circuit such as this one, the tyres won’t last long.

READ MORE: PRACTICE: Câmara leads the way for TRIDENT in Sakhir

“That’s why most of the teams decided to run towards the end. There’s less sand on the racing line and we were waiting for that.

“It might not be that interesting on TV at the very start, but once everyone’s on track together it became quite chaotic. Let’s put it this way, Qualifying will be very, very busy!”

Câmara’s session-topping time follows the in-season test around the Bahrain International Circuit where he and the Italian team were fastest across the three-day event.

With all of that data along with what TRIDENT gathered during Practice earlier today, the team is going into Qualifying full of confidence but with feet firmly planted on the grid says Ricci.

“It’s only Free Practice but we’re happy with the result. Our main focus is Qualifying, we’ll keep our motivation levels high, as always, but we’ll have our feet on the ground.

“As Rafa mentioned in his interview after testing, we’re trying our best to keep up our momentum. That’s our target but, as always, we have to focus on all of the little details such as the track and the conditions.

“Along with the engineers and the drivers as well, we have to try and deliver the best that we can of course with the target of being at the front.”

Everyone will now be combing through the numbers trying to identify any final changes they could make to find more speed.

Ricci says that the teams will be contending with similar conditions to those they faced in Practice, though the racing line will have taken a step forward after Formula 1 and Formula 2 running between F3 Practice and Qualifying.

The main thing everyone will be contending with however is the heat. Temperatures are higher than what teams will be used to dealing with in Bahrain, with the visit to the Gulf coming later in the season than usual.

It will make for a very tough half-hour session for everyone, not just the drivers.

“In the heat here, it’s very difficult for the team to set up the car and for the drivers to perform at their best.”

“Conditions won’t change drastically, but after Practice you have more information, so you adapt the car to the drivers’ feedback and for the fact that there’s more rubber on track now.”