Trident opens Monaco weekend with Fornaroli’s P9

The FIA Formula 3 Championship got back on track at the Monte Carlo street circuit, home to the series’ only streetcourse race for 2024. Running on the wet in qualifying, with cars split into two groups to avoid the risks of high traffic, the Trident Motorsport drivers had mixed fortunes, with Leonardo Fornaroli taking third place and the fifth fastest lap time overall, Sami Meguetounif ending up in P14 and Santiago Ramos in P17. 

The Piacenza native reported he did not have the best confidence in his car’s rear grip, while the Mexican missed the chance for an extra lap by less than three seconds, and the recent winner of Imola was slowed down by a red flag. 

Disruptions were a distinct feature at Monte Carlo, with the Sprint Race being suspended after one lap due to a multi-crash on the climb before the Casino. Five cars were involved and forced to retire. Santiago Ramos also suffered a rear-end collision amid the confusion. At the restart, with Fornaroli in P9, Meguetounif in P12, and Ramos in P18, the Sprint Race no longer offered great excitement. 

The positions remained unchanged until the end, with Ramos climbing up to P15 thanks to some retirements, including the one of Megetounif due to an engine issue. Trident Motorsport scored two points thanks to the P9 of Fornaroli, who lost a position in the very early stages.  

The Trident Motorsport drivers will analyze the data collected today with the team’s technical staff in the preparation work for the Feature Race, scheduled for tomorrow at 8:00 AM local time. After today's race, Fornaroli maintains P1 in driver points with a two-point advantage over Browning.

Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, Sprint Race Quote:Trident Motorsports opens Monaco weekend with Fornaroli’s P9“Following the crash during the opening lap, the positions stabilized. It was a race that offered little excitement, with our drivers having very little chance of moving up due to the difficulties in overtaking. However, we managed to improve our ranking by two points thanks to Fornaroli, ninth at the finish line. Our drivers proved to be competitive on the track, but their placing was conditioned by their starting position. Meguetounif was forced to retire due to a technical problem, which is currently being investigated, while Ramos finished in P9.”