The Trident team, a strong contender for the championship in F3, has had a disappointing performance in F2. Last year, they became the only team to score single-digit points, highlighting a significant decline in their competitiveness in the Formula 2 arena.
The Trident team, hailing from Milan, Italy, previously helped Ferrari nurture driver Rafael Camara to clinch the F3 championship in 2025. However, they have faced a string of challenges in the F2 arena. The 2025 season featured a lineup that combined French driver Sami Meguetounif and former esports player Max Esterson, but for most of the season, the team found themselves trailing the pack.
This unsatisfactory performance saw Meguetounif only achieving two 10th place finishes at the feature races in Imola and Austria, marking a glimmer of hope for Trident in terms of points. Consequently, the management decided to initiate a rotation mechanism after the conclusion of the European Series, allowing several F3 graduates to step into real competition.
After the shift of the autumn season, the Trident team has decided to re-sign Dutch driver Laurens van Hoepen, who started with them back at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, for the 2026 season. They will also be bringing in British driver John Bennett to take on the challenges of the new season together. At just 20 years old, van Hoepen hails from South Holland and has been racing for the prestigious French team ART since entering the formula racing scene in 2021, although his performance among his peers hasn’t exactly stood out.
At just 22 years old, Bennett hails from Salisbury in the south of England. In 2024, he stepped in at the Qatar Grand Prix to replace the departing Enzo Fittipaldi, becoming the first driver to leap from British F3 to F2. Although Bennett achieved an impressive 8th place in 2024, his 2025 season saw him only secure two top ten finishes, with points coming solely during the feature race in Italy.
Under the constraints of resource allocation, the Trident team had what can be described as its worst performance in history during F2, with even finishing in the top 15 becoming a distant dream since its inception in 2006. As the new season approaches, achieving double-digit points would be considered a success for the team. Additionally, top management may once again activate the graduate placement policy after the F3 season concludes in September, allowing Van Hoepen and Bennett to compete in 10-11 races for a chance to become permanent members in the future.
