The FIA Formula 2 Championship has lined up at the fast Jeddah Corniche Circuit for round 2 of 2024, and action got underway today with the running of the Sprint Race. The qualifying session had a positive outcome for Trident Motorsport, with Richard Verschoor taking P9 and Roman Staněk in P12. The reverse top-10 grid for the Sprint Race allowed Verschoor to start from the front row. When the lights went out, the 23-year-old Dutchman got away well and kept his position. The safety car was called in due to multiple first-lap contacts, and immediately after the restart, at the end of the third lap, Verschoor raised the pace and went to the attack. He eventually cruised to the lead five laps later.
On lap 10, a second safety car regrouped the pack, deleting the margin that Verschoor had managed to gain. However, he kept his focus in the following re-start and managed to run away again, creating a safety margin against his closest rival and keeping a very solid race pace. Verschoor sailed away to his first win of the year, which allowed him to climb up to P8 in the Driver Championship.
On the other hand, Roman Staněk could not make it to the points zone after being in P8 at the end of the first lap. The Czech driver was involved in several battles that caused him to lose time and positions. Staněk eventually finished the Sprint Race in P10. Having archived its first win in 2024, Trident Motorsport is getting ready for the second race on the Jeddah Corniche, which will start tomorrow at 16.25 local time, GMT +3.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, quote: “We are delighted to have achieved our first win of the season at the end of a well-run race by Richard Verschoor. He was off to a good start from second place on the grid and waited for the right moment to make his move for the lead. From that point on, he was great at managing the re-start after a safety car situation and finishing the race with a good advantage and a very solid race pace. Staněk, who was in the points zone at the start of the race, was slowed down by some battles on track."
