Trident: This year was stronger than our title-winning season of 2021

5 December 2022

It seems odd that a season in which Trident emerged empty handed in Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships was a success. But for Team Manager Giacomo Ricci, the Formula 3 season this year was a stronger campaign by the team than in 2021, when it swept the title stakes.

That’s because of the outright speed, performance and results the team was able to achieve through a complicated season. Without those hurdles, it might have been a very different year for Trident and the rest of their rivals. The positives are clear to Ricci, who believes that the team rebounded strongly to achieve what it managed, finishing second in the Teams’ Standings.

“It was a good season for us but, to be honest I’m not super fulfilled because I firmly believe that we had everything to win both the Drivers’ and the Teams’ titles,” Ricci explained. “But because of the start to the year, we lost many points and we’ve been able to have a super strong second half of the season to recover. It allowed us to finish second in the Drivers’ and the Teams’ Standings which of course, I’m super happy about and I want to thank everyone involved including the drivers because they’ve been a key role throughout the whole season.

“The atmosphere within the team has been great and our will to win has always been very high but at the same time, I feel a little bit of frustration. This season was even stronger than our 2021 campaign from our side but, for different reasons at the start of the season, it didn’t pan out.”

Misfortune for all three drivers at various stages of the season resulted in non-scores while rivals were able to take advantage. Zane Maloney ended up heading the Trident charge, finishing his rookie campaign with three consecutive Feature Race wins to end up second behind Champion Victor Martins.

Roman Stanek was the strongest Trident driver in the early phase of the season before eventually finishing fifth. Jonny Edgar battled back from illness and ended the campaign as one of the Championship’s most consistent scorers in the final races, finishing just outside the top 10 in 12th position.

What impressed Ricci though was the level-headedness of his young charges and the wider team. Trident was able to bounce back from the early season disappointment in some style, finishing the year in dominant fashion in the final three races.

“Stanek in Bahrain after a good Qualifying, he scored zero points and was absolutely unlucky that round because he suffered from two punctures. It was the same for Jonny after he became very sick and we were forced to make a driver change during the season. Maloney won three races in a row at the end of the season but at the start, he didn’t score almost anything. So we believe that we always had some good potential but at the end of the day, what counts is the results and we finished second in both Championships.

“That said, I'm glad that even in times of difficulties the atmosphere remained really positive in the team. It was amazing I have to say the chemistry we had between the drivers and the whole Team for the whole season. I’m really thankful to Zane, Roman and Jonny because we’ve been able to bounce back and finish second in the Championship at a level that is extremely tough which is still a great result.”

All of the teams will face the challenge of two new venues on the calendar as well as the longest season in FIA F3 history in 2023. Ten rounds will comprise the next campaign, and visits to Melbourne and Monte Carlo are two highlights. For the teams and drivers, they represent two of the toughest rounds they’ll do next year.

Ricci says that it will be essential to be competitive on the two new tracks introduced in the 2023 Championship and those are top of the priority list.

“As always, the level of competitiveness of the championship rises every year, next season will be no different. We will need to be focused and prepared in the best way possible for the 2023 Championship because it will be very demanding for the teams and the drivers. The addition of the street circuit of Monte Carlo as a round and having Australia move the calendar up to 10 events is a step for everyone.

“To do these races in Australia without having any data will be challenging and the same can be said about Monte Carlo. We know how important it is to have the consistency throughout the season and to be able to score as many points as a team at every race event.

The main task for Trident though will be achieving a level of consistency it only found near the end of the 2022 season. Maloney’s tripling up across Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort and Monza proved that it’s possible and the Ricci has lofty expectations going into next year.

“For the upcoming season what we are looking at across the entire team is achieving consistency. We are working on a system that allows us as a unit, drivers and team, to find consistency and with the aim of putting the Team in the position of not having to catch up. We are all very motivated and we are preparing to face 2023 in the best possible way.”