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IMOLA REWIND: Sami Meguetounif and TRIDENT on top in 2024
The start of the European season is always a good barometer of what we can expect going forward, and it was definitely the case in 2024.
TRIDENT achieved an unprecedented 1-2-3 in Qualifying, as Santiago Ramos led his teammates on the grid in what was a hugely impressive showing.
In the Sprint, it came down to a final lap showdown between Oliver Goethe and Noel León, while Sunday brought more success for TRIDENT on home soil.
QUALIFYING
The weekend got underway proper with the grid-setting Friday Qualifying session which was full of drama from start to finish.
The Italians started strongly, as Gabriele Minì earned provisional pole ahead of compatriot Leonardo Fornaroli in the opening exchanges.
The Red Flag was flying with 10 minutes gone as Callum Voisin spun into the gravel at Turn 4 and couldn’t get going again.
Back underway and this time Goethe took P1, but from here, the pole-winning strategy took hold.
TRIDENT opted to gamble and waited until the closing five minutes before sending their trio back out onto circuit, and after multiple preparation laps, put in one final flyer each to secure a 1-2-3.
Santiago Ramos headed up teammates Meguetounif and Fornaroli on a day of days for the team.
SPRINT RACE
Saturday’s Sprint continued the dramatic theme of the weekend as the race went to the very final laps and beyond, eventually resolved in the Stewards room post-race.
On track though, the action was frenetic, and León claimed P1 into the first chicane from P2 on the grid. Tim Tramnitz passed teammate Kacper Sztuka too before the Safety Car was called upon for a spin further back for Mari Boya.
León kept his pursuers at bay through two subsequent Safety Car restarts, but into the closing stages, Tramnitz and now Goethe were beginning to heap on the pressure.
Another Safety Car ended on Lap 15 to set up a sprint to the finish, with the top three fighting to the chequered flag.
Despite constant pressure from Goethe, who’d managed to get up to P2, it looked as though the Mexican was comfortable.
As the VSC was withdrawn however, Goethe got the jump on the race leader to assume P1 just a handful of corners from the end. The German driver crossed the line first but lost the win to an earlier time penalty, putting León back on the top step.
However, a post-race review of the incident that earned Goethe his five-seconds by the Stewards resulted in the penalty being overturned, promoting him back up to P1.
FEATURE RACE
TRIDENT led 1-2-3 with Ramos heading up the pack at lights out, while Goethe was up three spots in his charge to the front.
Fornaroli used DRS to pass his teammate on Lap 3, while Goethe was on the move too, passing Meguetounif for third as the opening laps ticked by.
Ramos was overtaken by the Sprint Race winner on Lap 5 and that turned into the lead after a brief issue for Fornaroli meant he suffered a dip in power along the main straight, allowing Goethe through for P1.
Ramos and Meguetounif were then locked in an all-TRIDENT fight for second over the next phase of the Feature Race, and eventually the Frenchman nailed a pass into Turn 2 on Lap 12. By that point, Goethe’s lead was up to over two seconds, leaving his pursuer with a lot of work to do before the end.
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The TRIDENT rookie obliged however, and slowly but surely began to whittle down the gap to P1 over the next few laps. By Lap 17, he was into DRS range and with five laps to go, surged by the Campos driver for the lead of the race.
Fornaroli’s comeback charge wasn’t over either, and having dropped to fifth after his earlier issue, was on the hunt for P2.
The eventual Champion couldn’t make it a 1-2 for the team, but Meguetounif claimed his maiden F3 victory on the team’s home soil after a stellar drive to the top step ahead of Goethe and Fornaroli.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m just extremely happy,” he said afterwards. “The race was great, it was tough at the beginning, but I kept going and managed to find a crazy pace at the end of the race. Now I will enjoy it with the team and it feels so great, I have nothing else to say!“