Trident Motorsport put together another dominant performance in the final race at the Belgian track, with Doohan scoring his second win of the weekend. As a result, the Australian continued to close into the championship lead. The Italian squad totalled 80 points over the weekend, trimming its gap from the lead of the team championship to only 16 markers.
In Race 3, the final one for round 5 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship at Spa-Francorchamps, Trident Motorsport and its drivers continued to put up an excellent performance. In another run plagued by the weather and started behind the safety car, the team's drivers made no mistakes, claiming some extremely positive results.
Overall, the Italian squad secured a record-setting 80 points over the weekend, bringing home two wins and a second place in the process.
Capping an exceedingly positive run for them, Jack Doohan, Clément Novalak, and David Schumacher took the victory, P5 and P9 respectively today. The Australian posted two wins, and the weekend enabled him to trim his deficit in the driver championship from 63 to 25 points. The 18-year-old from Gold Coast got the nod in a tough yet fair battle with Martins. Novalak fought like a lion and rounded out the top-5. He is now holding the same position in the driver championship, tied with Smolyar.
Schumacher also put together a positive performance. After posting an outstanding second place in race 2, he took P9 in race 3, enough to break into the top-10 of the championship standings. In addition, Trident Motorsport reduced its gap towards the front of the team championship to just 16 points.
The FIA Formula 3 Championship will be back into action in less than seven days as the series moves to Zandvoort to race for the first time at the challenging Dutch venue. The goal for Trident Motorsport will be to carry on the momentum and continue to fight back in points standings.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Race 3 quote
“We are very satisfied for the end of a weekend that handed us two wins with Doohan, a podium with Schumacher, and the chance to close into the lead of both championships. Doohan masterfully managed a very demanding race today, despite the track featured extremely changing conditions. He made no mistakes to deliver his third win of the season. Novalak and Schumacher had an extremely solid race too, as they both scored points for the team standings. In the end, we totalled a record-high 80 points in a single event. Now we have to keep on the same levels for the next weekend. Our series will make its debut at a new venue with no previous benchmarks.”
FIA F3 Championship, Spa-Francorchamps, Race 1 & 2 Report
Trident Motorsport confirmed the team's winning tradition at Spa-Francorchamps with a scintillating 1-2 finish in race 2. In a dominant performance on one of the most challenging and demanding tracks of the season, the Milan-based squad strengthened its second place in the team championship.
The fifth round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship went underway at Spa-Francorchamps, as the track located in the Walloon region of the Ardennes, Belgium, was swept by tough weather conditions and - indeed - by a dominant performance from Trident Motorsport. The Italian squad delivered a win and a second place in race 2.
Trident Motorsport's high performance was anticipated by qualifying on Saturday, as the team scored a stunning pole with Jack Doohan, sixth place with Clément Novalak and eighth place with David Schumacher. With the reversed top-12 grid from qualifying, race 1 saw Novak and Doohan put up a solid run and finish in the same position they had at the start. While going for an overtaking attempt at Eau Rouge, which would have been good for P4, Schumacher made a small mistake that cost him track position. However, the German ended up in P11, which ultimately handed him a front row start for race 2 alongside Doohan.
Race 2 turned out to be unpredictable. The stewards were forced to resort to the virtual safety car and the full safety car due to crashes. As if it wasn't enough, a strong downpour hit the venue again in the closing stages. Despite the race featured plenty of excitement, Doohan and Schumacher never surrendered P1 and P2 respectively, and crossed the finish line in the same order, handing Trident Motorsport a dominant and memorable run that confirmed the Milan-based team's winning tradition at Spa-Francorchamps. Novalak scored a solid P5, which enabled the Frenchman to reclaim fourth place in points. Both Doohan and Trident Motorsports solidified second place in their respective rankings.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Race 1 quote
“Novalak put together a very decent race, keeping the position he had on the starting grid. Doohan was aiming to take a few risks after yesterday's excellent pole position, and P12 allowed the Australian to start from pole in Race 2 as well. A mistake by Schumacher at Eau Rouge cost him dearly, as he was fighting for P4 but ended up being swallowed by the pack instead. We are satisfied for locking out the front row for Race 2, which led us to a key advantage.”
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Race 2 quote
“We are delighted for the outstanding 1-2 finish we claimed with Doohan and Schumacher. This outcome confirms the winning history of Trident Motorsport at Spa-Francorchamps, one of the most demanding and selective circuits in Formula 1 and junior single-seaters. It is a superb result for us, allowing both the team and Doohan himself to solidify second place in their respective rankings. In this circumstance, I want to say a big thank you to the team for doing an excellent job, and to Doohan, who dominated a very complicated race in a stellar fashion. Schumacher also put up a remarkable performance, which highlighted his growth with a great second place. Novalak deserves praise too because he secured valuable points for the team at the end of an extremely positive day.
