Meguetounif pleased with Spa performance as he looks to finish season on a high

31 July 2024

Sami Meguetounif was happy to finish fifth at this weekend’s Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race, with the Trident driver believing he maximised all the opportunities he had on Sunday.

The Frenchman showed good pace throughout the three days, Qualifying eighth, before crossing the line sixth in the Sprint Race, although he was demoted to P27 after exceeding track limits one too many times.

But the Feature was much better for Meguetounif as he made his way up to fourth at one stage before taking the chequered flag in P5 – his best result since he won the Imola Feature Race.

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“I think I can be happy,” said Meguetounif, reflecting on the Feature Race. “The race was very short at the end, a small amount of laps because of the Safety Cars but I think I maximised every opportunity I had to gain a position.

“Knowing the scenario, I can be happy but of course I know that with the pace I had, especially at the start of the race, after the first Safety Car that with a cleaner race I could have done better and targeted a podium for sure, because my speed at the first stage of the race was really strong.

“After that, I could only do one lap like everyone after each Safety Car restart, so it wasn't really about pace it was just a matter of having a good restart. At the end I took all the opportunities I had so I can take this one, it's still good points.”

Meguetounif was happy with the performance after finishing fifth in the Feature

It was a positive weekend for Trident as a whole, with Leonardo Fornaroli third in the Feature – putting him back on top of the Drivers’ Championship – while Santiago Ramos put all three cars in the top 10 by finishing eighth.

This result helped them close to within nine points of ART Grand Prix in the battle for second in the Teams’ Standings, and Meguetounif says that’s one of the big positives from the weekend.

“I think overall we were really strong,” he said. “In terms of the team it's really good to score points today with three cars, we've closed in a lot on P2 in the Championship and we arrive at Monza with a clear target and we know we can do it.

“Personally, since Practice everything went well, I always had a good feeling, in Quali I fought for pole on the first set and on the second as well but I didn't have a tow, so I lost quite a lot in the first sector without the slipstream.

“So, at the end I know I was quick and also the Sprint Race was good, a shame about the track limit penalties, but on track we did the job, and today again, I can be happy and I think I have shown that we were there this weekend.”

All three Trident drivers scored solid points in the Feature Race

Looking back on the season as a whole heading into the summer break and the finale at Monza, Meguetounif says bad luck and his mistakes have cost him so far, and now he wants to show that he had what it takes to be battling in the top five this year.

“Approaching the end of the season I really want to finish my races, take points, and show good things to the people watching,” said Meguetounif.

“I think we've been quite unlucky with this last period at Silverstone, everything with weather, with punctures, with issues, so it's important to finish well and show that we had the potential to be in the top five in the Championship. I also made mistakes this year but I want to take that all away and finish well this season for sure.”