Stromsted says winning races are his ‘main target’ ahead of return to action in Imola

TRIDENT’s Noah Stromsted has revealed what he has learned from the opening two rounds of the season and expressed how keen he is to use these experiences to fight for victories for the rest of 2025.

The 17-year-old has made a good start to life in Formula 3, finishing second in the Melbourne Feature and scoring points in both Sakhir races.

Reviewing his first few weeks in the Championship, Stromsted, having absorbed a lot of information, was happy with how he and TRIDENT had performed.

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“It's going quite well, I’ve been learning a lot,” said Stromsted. “We started off very well in Australia, especially also for the team with the one-two. Then we had the test in Bahrain, testing some things on the car, trying to figure out some new stuff.

“Of course, the race weekend was a bit difficult for me but still scored some good points. There was also a lot of learning for me, the team did a great job, the car was very good, so we will take all the positives to Imola.”

So, what has Stromsted learned from the first two rounds that he intends to use moving forward? From watching how the more experienced drivers operate, the Mercedes junior says the plan is to be more aggressive.

“I thought a lot about learning how the tyres work, especially in Bahrain, where it's quite hard on the tyres,” he explained. “I didn't really know what to expect, especially in the Feature Race, how well they would hold and how much you would need to save.

“But I think we did quite a good job and we prepared well. The pace was okay in the races, we lacked a little bit compared to some of the second-year drivers, but in general it was quite good.

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“Us rookies now we have some experience, we can try to be a bit more aggressive. We can try to push a bit more, we now have a better understanding of the tyres, how they work in the quali and in the race. So, I think we can start to push a bit more and not be on the safe side anymore.”

Giving an example of what being more aggressive means, Stromsted said: “I think there's parts of the race where you can be more aggressive, especially in Bahrain, that's what I saw from some of the second-year drivers.

“ln some parts of the race, they start pushing maybe two or three laps harder on the tyres. For sure they overheat a bit, but then you are able to bring them back.

“In quali, I think we have a better feeling in the car, and how it works. You can start to take a bit more risk in quali, push a bit more, go for the last tenths, and I think this will be some key points moving forward.”

But this is easier said than done, as Stromsted acknowledges the level of competition on the grid is extremely high and that makes it very tricky for the drivers in Qualifying.

“The competition is very tough,” he continued. “It's higher than any other category I have driven in, especially in the quali, and we have so little time in the Practice before going out.

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“We saw this mostly in Australia, where we had the one session. I think we had maybe three push laps before the quali, before the Red Flag, and we got quite lucky there. This is for sure is one of the more difficult things.”

Looking ahead to Imola, the start of the upcoming triple header that takes the paddock to Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Stromsted is eager to continue scoring points and fighting for wins.

“It's going to be important to score points at every round, we've seen this in the past,” he said. “But I want to try and get the win. Just keep scoring good points, that's the main target, but of course I want to win.”