The FIA Formula 3 Championship weekend in Imola came to an end today and the Feature Race gave Trident Motorsport a sparkling victory with Roman Staněk. For the Czech driver it is the first win in the series and an extremely important result overall.
As a result, Staněk is only one point away from the top of the drivers’ championship. Staněk had finished close to a podium finish in the sprint race yesterday as he finished a great comeback run with a fourth place finish. To further illustrate the team’s potential, he also scored the fastest lap of the race and P2 in qualifying, behind teammate and pole sitter Zane Maloney.
Despite being in the lead in the early stages, the Barbadian was unable to complete the feature race due to a spin while warming up the tires for a safety car restart. It was a particularly difficult outcome for the team, which were hoping for a podium finish for Maloney to boost the day’s points score.
Trident in full action during the next round of Formula 3 in Imola
Staněk was very mature in dealing with tire degradation and created a condition of technical advantage in the latter part of the race which allowed him to overtake Bearman and sail to his first F3 win. Oliver Rasmussen was forced to retire due to a technical problem, probably related to the gearbox, which the team is still checking. The 21-year-old Dane, who made his debut with the team at Imola, had finished the Sprint Race in P7. Now the FIA Formula 3 Championship is taking a month-long break with no races or testing sessions. The next round will be in Montmelò from 20 to 22 May.
Giacomo Ricci, team manager:
“Today’s feature race confirmed the remarkable level of performance of our cars at Imola, as we closed the front row of the starting grid and took victory in the feature race with Roman Staněk. He drove the race perfectly, made no mistakes and made a crucial move in the closing stages. Unfortunately, we cannot celebrate an equally good result for Zane Maloney, who dominated but spun during the tire warm-up under Safety Car. It’s a mistake Maloney will surely learn from. A technical issue that we are investigating forced Rasmussen to re-enter the pit lane and withdraw. Today we have made it back to the top of all rankings after the unfortunate run on Sakhir”.