Still a lot left to discover: TRIDENT Pre-Season Round-Up

TRIDENT left the Barcelona pre-season test in a positive space, but Team Manager Giacomo Ricci and rookie driver Rafael Câmara still feel like they have more to learn about the new Formula 3 car.

The Italian team have a storied history in the Championship, having won the last two Drivers’ Championships with Gabriel Bortoleto and Leonardo Fornaroli.

On top of that, they have finished in the top two of the Teams’ Standings every year since 2020, which includes their 2021 title triumph.

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But the new car means the entire grid starts from zero, and TRIDENT certainly put it through its paces, completing 669 laps across the three days of testing – second behind Campos Racing.

“I have to say I am quite happy with the F3 car,” said Ricci. “We didn't have any issues with the car. The reliability was very good, I’m very happy about this, so congratulations to the series, because sometimes with a new car you can face some problems.

“But the car ran perfectly I have to say, that was very good, and also the times were quite quick. We were not expecting to be so fast with this new package, with this 16-inch tyre, but I have to say it was good.

“Overall, I’m happy. Regarding the performance, I don't want to say so much. It's too early to have to say, especially because it was a strange test in these conditions. It was very, very cold, so it's too early to judge.”

Each of TRIDENT’s drivers crossed the 200-lap mark in Barcelona, Noah Stromsted leading the way on 236, while Câmara finished with 218, three more than Charlie Wurz.

This gives the team a lot of data to dive into before Melbourne, but for Ricci it still does not give them a clear picture of where they currently sit compared to their rivals.

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“Again, it's only testing,” he said. “I am happy because the drivers were learning very quickly and this is a positive thing on our side. At the same time, we will see the reality in Melbourne, and I think still after the first three rounds things can still change.

“As it was in F2 last year, everyone was discovering the car and learning, so I think the real value we will see in Melbourne a little bit more.”

TRIDENT’s best lap of the test was set by Stromsted on the morning of Day 2, when times were at their fastest. His 1:26.938 was third fastest in that session, while Câmara and Wurz joined him in the top 10 in P8 and P9, respectively.

But the next day it was Câmara who set the pace in the morning, this time in wet conditions, the Brazilian’s 1:42.570 putting him up to P1, 0.138s ahead of Stromsted in second.

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Speaking the day after the test, Câmara gave his view on how the test had gone, feeling he had improved as a driver, especially as driving the Formula 3 car had started to feel more “natural”.

“The test went pretty well,” he said. “We managed to test a lot of things in both conditions which is quite nice.

“Obviously, it's good to do it in the wet but it would have been perfect to have three days in the dry, then we could learn everything properly to know more about the car, and then be more prepared for Melbourne.

“But I think with the test we did, everything we learned so far, we are quite confident we are in a good place. It’s always difficult to know, because you don't know exactly what others are doing, but inside our team, Charlie and Noah did a good job.

“But now we need to prepare for Melbourne, look within the team to see what we can do. For sure we have a lot of things to see still, but with three days here, so many things to test, you cannot see everything.

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“The tyres felt pretty good. To be honest, I was expecting them to be quite worse than last year because they are bigger, but in the end the grip was very good. Even for long runs, it looks like they can survive better than the other one.

“It will be nice now to go back to the factory and look at everything in more detail and prepare for Melbourne. I can’t wait for Melbourne.”