Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Roman Stanek

  • F2 – Hungary – Day 1

    Practice-

    Luke Browning made a quick start to his Budapest weekend, as the Hitech TGR driver topped the timesheets of Friday’s morning’s Free Practice session.

    With his final lap of the 45 minute outing, the Williams Racing Driver Academy member completed a 1:30.609 to go to P1 at the chequered flag, with Oliver Goethe and Alexander Dunne rounding out the top three.

    The red flags were waving early on in the session following a stoppage for ART Grand Prix driver Ritomo Miyata’s at the exit of Turn 1.

    Running resumed with just under 35 minutes to go, and it was AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen that set the pace on a 1:32.879.

    However, that time was beaten by several drivers, as the fastest lap changed hands on several occasions. But it was Goethe that led Richard Verschoor, in an MP Motorsport 1-2 with a 1:31.139.

    The MP pairing continued to set the pace as Goethe improved to a 1:30.753, while Verschoor stayed in P2, 0.291s off his teammate.

    Victor Martins and Dino Beganovic then went to second and third respectively, but both finished laps that were over two and a half tenths off Goethe, the German having just lowered the time to beat to a 1:30.742.

    As the session entered into its final 10 minutes, Invicta Racing’s Roman Stanek went up to second, cutting the gap to P1 to 0.176s.

    But the Czech driver was quickly pushed down to P4 as Dunne and then Browning went up to second. However, the Hitech driver was still 0.131s off Goethe’s leading time.

    As the session entered into its final moments, several drivers were still improving, one of those being Browning, who completed a 1:30.609 to snatch P1 away from Goethe.

    Qualifying-

    Roman Stanek took his maiden Aramco Pole Position Award with a superb performance in Budapest, beating his Invicta Racing teammate Leonardo Fornaroli to the top spot.

    The Czech driver completed a 1:28.779 to go P1 but had to watch on front the pit lane as Fornaroli finished his final attempt. However, the Italian missed out on pole by 0.146s, as DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford sealed P3.

    Arvid Lindblad was the first driver to set a lap and completed a 1:30.319 to set the early benchmark. But there were several improvements behind him, as Oliver Goethe continued his form from Free Practice to go top on a 1:29.308.

    Then, Stanek eclipsed the MP Motorsport driver’s time by 0.141s to take P1 after the first lap.

    The drivers were able to push on for a second lap on their soft tyres, and Stanek extended his advantage out in front with a 1:29.107, putting 0.181s between he and Goethe.

    Stanek’s teammate Fornaroli had made the decision to come out of the pitlane later than the rest of his rivals, giving him the chance to do his push laps on an empty track.

    The Championship leader briefly went P1 but his time was deleted for exceeding track limits. He continued for another attempt, ending up P4 just as the field returned for their final laps.

    With a new set of soft tyres, Stanek lowered the benchmark time to a 1:28.779, with Crawford going up to second, 0.173s off the pace, as Luke Browning went up to P3.

    Fornaroli the returned to the track with just over four minutes left in the session, having fallen outside the top 10, as his rivals finished came back into the pitlane.

    With the chequered flag waving the Invicta driver went to P2, 0.146s off Stanek, who took his maiden Formula 2 Pole Position.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Stanek, P2: Fornaroli, P3: Crawford, P4: Browning, P5: Duerksen, P6: Goethe, P7: Martins, P8: Lindblad, P9: Dunne and P10: Marti.

  • Stanek moves to Invicta for 2025

    Invicta Racing have confirmed the signing of Roman Stanek for the 2025 Formula 2 season, completing their driver lineup for this year following the announcement of F3 Champion Leonardo Fornaroli.

    Stanek returns for a third season in F2 having previously won the 2024 Melbourne Sprint Race having also achieved a further eight point finishes across his previous two seasons.

    Prior to that, the Czech driver fought for the title until the final round of the 2022 Formula 3 Championship, winning one race and achieving a further three podiums.

    Speaking following the announcement, Stanek was excited to have the opportunity to race for the 2024 Champions.

    I can’t wait to drive for Invicta Racing in 2025. The team has been fighting at the front of the field all season, achieved some really great results and is undoubtedly one of the most desirable options in the paddock for next year. That means there’ll be some pressure for Leonardo (Fornaroli) and I, but I think we’re up to the challenge. I’m ready for whatever F2 throws at me in 2025.
    Stanek on the news.

    We’re thrilled to have Roman onboard for 2025. His experience of F2 in recent years, as well as the other series he’s raced in will be invaluable to Invicta Racing in 2025. I see the partnership between himself and Leonardo (Fornaroli) being extremely fruitful as well. That mix of approaches from a driver who knows the ropes and one fresh to the series will push the team forward, of that I have no doubt.
    Andy Roche, Invicta Racing Team Principal.

  • F2 – RND 3 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    A slow getaway from the front row gave Hadjar the momentum to take the lead, but as the Frenchman moved to pass pole-sitter Stanek, he tapped teammate Josep Maria Marti who collided with Gabriel Bortoleto.

    Victor Martins was a big winner of lap 1, where he climbed eight places from P21 to 13th in the space of half a lap.

    After five laps behind the Safety Car, racing got underway entering lap 7, but Zane Maloney had a tough restart, dropping from fifth position to 10th after running into the gravel out of Turn 6.

    The fight for second was a five-car battle headed by Stanek, with the chasing pack bunched up behind closely. Going into Turn 12 on lap 10, a spin for Andrea Kimi Antonelli sent Richard Verschoor spinning also, while Paul Aron sustained front wing damage in the process.
    The PREMA and Trident drivers were out on the spot and the Safety Car was called upon.

    Back to racing, Hadjar got the jump on Stanek once again to establish a comfortable lead. A fastest lap with seven to go gave him a lead of three seconds over the Trident driver, who was defending hard from Maini behind.

    Onto the penultimate lap and Hauger finally got the move done on Maini to take third, sweeping around the outside of the Invicta driver at Turn 9 to take the place.

    Hadjar had disappeared into the distance after the final Safety Car and crossed the line to win by over six seconds.
    However, Isack Hadjar has been handed a 10 second time penalty after the race as he was found to cause a collision at the start of the race. Which means he loses his victory and drops down to sixth.

    So the top 10 is- P1: Stanek, P2: Hauger, P3: Maini, P4: Colapinto, P5: Miyata, P6: Hadjar, P7: Martins, P8: O’Sullivan, P9: Crawford and P10: Maloney.

    Day 3-

    Dennis Hauger got the perfect start to lead Andrea Kimi Antonelli into Turn 1. Contact further back in the pack between Zak O’Sullivan and Roman Stanek left the sprint winner spinning and put him last in the order.

    Further around the first lap, Antonelli made a dive to the inside of the polesitter to secure P1 at Turn 11, but the MP driver responded on the following tour to retake the lead at Turn 9.

    There was a brief virtual Safety Car on Lap 7 to recover Joshua Duerksen’s car following contact with O’Sullivan at Turn 13.
    Racing was resumed and Maini was on the move, he took the lead from Hauger on Lap 9 before the Norwegian led Antonelli and the first leaders in for mandatory stops, filtering back out just outside of the top 10.

    The polesitter’s day was over shortly afterwards though, as he crashed at Turn 6 to bring out the Virtual Safety Car on lap 11.
    Isack Hadjar made his mandatory stop before the VSC was deployed to come back out ahead of Antonelli on the road in 8th.

    Hadjar cleared the yet to stop Taylor Banard for sixth to put a car between himself and his closest rival. The Frenchman was on the move on the following lap, taking fifth from Enzo Fittipaldi at Turn 9.
    The Campos driver’s charge continued at the expense of Stanek on Lap 20, easing by the Trident driver with DRS on the back straight.

    Having cleared teammate Ritomo Miyata, Maloney was next to pass Barnard to move himself up to ninth position and he set off in pursuit of the PREMA driver further ahead.

    Lap 24, and with Stanek battling to stay ahead of Fittipaldi, the VAR driver ran out of room at Turn 4 to allow Aron, Antonelli and Maloney through.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hadjar, P2: Aron, P3: Maloney, P4: Antonelli, P5: Miyata, P6: Verschoor, P7: Colapinto, P8: Villagomez, P9: Martins and P10: Bearman.

    However, Colapinto has been disqualified from the race as he was found to have not engaged the race start set up procedure at the start of the race in breach of technical regulations. The Argentinian loses P7 with Jak Crawford moving up into the final points position.

  • Trident retain Roman Stanek

    Trident have retained Roman Stanek for the 2024 Formula 2 season, announcing that their partnership is set to continue for a third consecutive campaign.

    Stanek first raced with Trident back in 2022 when he finished fifth in his second season of FIA Formula 3, scoring one victory and pole position along with two fastest laps and four podiums.

    He then made the step up to Formula 2 last year, and wound-up 18th in the Championship after scoring 15 points.
    Stanek’s return completes Trident’s 2024 line-up with the team having already announced that they had reunited with Dutchman Richard Verschoor.

    We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Roman Stanek, who has been part of our family for a long time and was able to provide winning results in the past. We are certain that all the ingredients are there to do well and achieve increasingly ambitious goals together. The experience acquired in 2023 will prove pivotal to start the new season with the best conditions and maximum determination.

    Giacomo Ricci, Trident’s Team Principal.

  • Stanek graduates to F2

    Trident have confirmed that Roman Stanek will be graduating to Formula 2, where he will team up with Clement Novalak to complete the team’s line-up for 2023.

    He joined the team having raced for Trident in FIA Formula 3 last season, where he finished fifth in the Drivers’ Championship.

    The 18 year old graduated from karting to single seater in 2019, where he won twice in German F4 and once in Italian F4 and finishing fourth and fifth in both Championships respectively.

    From there, Stanek graduated to Formula 3 for 2020 and has made improvements across his three seasons in the championship, culminating in his top five finish last year.

    Stanek subsequently took part in the post-season test with Trident at Yas Marina following the end of the 2022 F2 season, logging a total of 246 laps across the three days.

    We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Roman Staněk and partner with him for his move to the FIA Formula 2 Championship, which is always a key step for a driver’s career. I think that moving up within the same organization is an important added value in terms of continuity. He knows the team very well, and we will be able to support him in the best possible way. Staněk had a remarkable 2022 season in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Trident Motorsport, and I think there are all the components that are needed to perform at a high level this year as well.

    Trident Team Manager, Giacomo Ricci.

    I’m very thrilled to be working with Trident again this year. I’m already at work with the team and Giacomo, who is a great mentor to me, to achieve our goals together. This is going to be a year full of challenges and I’m ready for it.

    Stanek added on.