Trident have confirmed their first driver signing for the 2025 FIA Formula 2 season with Sami Meguetounif set to step up to the second tier with the team this year.
The Frenchman had a strong 2024 campaign with the team in Formula 3, finishing eighth in the Championship Standings thanks to his two feature race victories in Imola and Monza.
Prior to that, Meguetounif took part in the 2022 and 2023 season of Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine achieving several podiums across his two seasons in the category.
He will now graduate to Formula 2 with Trident, the 20 year old expressed his delight at not only stepping up to F2 but also doing so in familiar surroundings.
I am very happy and excited to make my debut in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Team Trident. When I made my debut in Formula 3 with the Italian team twelve months ago, I did not think I would grow so quickly. This year I have worked with strong, intelligent and determined people. We have had an incredible season, which has allowed me, also thanks to two wonderful victories, to convince those who support me that it was time to move up a ladder. I can’t wait to take part in the Formula 2 post-season tests and enter a new phase of my career. Meguetounif on the news.
We are very pleased to announce that Sami Meguetounif will compete with Trident Motorsport in the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship. We had the pleasure of working with Sami this year in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, obtaining remarkable results, as he has proven to be a winning driver. The move to the higher category represents a natural step at this stage of his career. I am sure that Sami has all the qualities to learn quickly and have a competitive season. Giacomo Ricci, Trident Team Manager.
Campos Racing’s Mari Boya started the Monza weekend on top, setting a 1:38.172 to lead the pack in Free Practice.
The Spaniard saved his best time for last, able to pip Christian Mansell and Callum Voisin who wound up second and third for ART Grand Prix and Rodin Motorsport respectively.
Gabriele Mini was the first driver to put down a laptime, setting a 1:41.324 to lead early on. The Italian lowered his personal best shortly afterwards to a 1:40.583 with the opening 10 minutes gone.
Teammate and title rival Arvid Lindblad had a minor off track excursion at Lesmo 2 as the PREMA driver ran wide and through the gravel but was able to rejoin.
A Virtual Safety Car was deployed with just over half an hour to go after Kacper Sztuka came to a halt ahead of the Parabolica.
With the car cleared, green flag running resumed but a Red Flag followed with 25 minutes remaining. Several drivers ran through the gravel at the Variante della Roggia chicane to leave the track covered in gravel.
Into the final 15 minutes and the times rolled in, with Boya putting his Campos car at the head of the field on a 1:39.998 before Noel Leon beat that for Van Amersfoort Racing by 0.139s.
Luke Browning then put his first time on the board to go quickest of all by almost three-tenths of a second on a 1:39.574. Leon returned to P1 on his next lap to lower the benchmark time to a 1:39.470 heading into the final 10 minutes of running.
Mini then restored himself to the top spot with a 1:38.998, 0.4s quicker than Leon’s effort and comfortably fastest of the title contenders. Mansell lifted himself up the order with a 1:39.153 to go second-fastest for ART Grand Prix inside the final five minutes.
Boya then displaced the Australian to go within 0.031s of Mini’s time until the Italian finished off his final effort to improve one last time.
Qualifying-
Group A- The even-numbered cars lined up to get on track first, including the top three in the Drivers’ Championship.
There was just one time on the board with just over five minutes to go, though Max Esterson’s 2:10.419 was not a push lap as everyone began to play for track position.
Contact between Laurens van Hoepen and Kacper Sztuka out of Lesmo 1 left debris on the track and both with damage, leading to a red flag.
The first segment resumed with five minutes to go and everyone else was straight back out onto the circuit.
Esterson headed out the queue without a tow and recorded the first proper lap to beat with a 1:40.558 but that was beaten immediately.
Luke Browning went quicker but his time was bettered by Mari Boya and Joshua Dufek, with the latter taking provisional top spot with a 1:38.287
Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli wound up seventh on his first attempt, seven-tenths down on the time to beat. The Italian reset and on his second and final effort, he recorded a 1:38.287 to go quickest of all while title rival Gabriele Mini moved himself up to second at the chequered flag.
Group B-
The odd-numbered half of the grid followed suit in waiting before getting out on track for their first attempts.
ART Grand Prix were the first to blink and sent Nikola Tsolov and Christian Mansell out in front, with the rest of the pack trailing the pair out of the pitlane.
Mansell had overtaken his teammate but then backed off in hopes of gaining a tow as the clock ticked to three minutes remaining. With nobody obliging, the Australian headed up the train for the first attempts but backed off before he completed the lap as others followed suit.
Martinius Stenshorne wasn’t one of them though and recorded the first time to beat on a 1:39.273. That was beaten by fellow McLarn Driver Alex Dunne, who went provisionally quickest in Group B with a 1:38.818.
Everyone had time for one final attempt but nobody could beat the MP driver’s effort, though no one was close to Fornaroli’s time from Group A.
With the results aggregated together, Fornaroli will line up on Pole for Sunday’s Feature Race ahead of Dunne on the front row in P2. Mini will go from third with Meguetounif in P4. Ramos rounded out the top five.
Day 2 Sprint Race-
Before the lights could go out, title contender Christian Mansell radioed into his ART Grand Prix that he was stuck in third gear. A second formation lap was required but the Australian was able to get off the grid, though he had to start from the pitlane for causing the delay.
At the race start, reverse grid pole sitter Tramnitz covered off Dino Beganovic on the run to Turn 1 before going wheel to wheel with Montoya, who had to skip over Turn 2 but settled into second after passing the PREMA driver.
A Safety Car was deployed on lap 2 after Noel Leon and Nikita Bedrin wound up in the gravel after contact at Turn 2 with Tommy Smith, requiring the former cars to be cleared away/
Racing got back underway entering lap 6 but a big snap through Parabolica put Montoya under immediate pressure from Beganovic. However, the Colombian held onto the second into the first chicane.
Joseph Loake and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak ran through the gravel at Turn 4, allowing Lindblad and Fornaroli to move up into the points in ninth and 10th places respectively, with Browning and Mini followed directly behind.
With DRS on the run to Ascari, Fornaroli battled by Lindblad on lap 7 to secure ninth position from the PREMA driver. Teammate Ramos meanwhile was able to move ahead of Beganovic to take third place, and he was quickly onto the rear wing of Campos’ Montoya.
Lap 10 and after two previous unsuccessful attempts, Browning passed Lindblad for 10th position to move into the points. Meanwhile Fornaroli’s charge continued as he passed Mari Boya for seventh.
Montoya stuck with Ramos after being passed and re-took second into the first corner on Lap 12, while teammate Sami Meguetounif was able to move ahead of Beganovic at the same spot. Alex Dunne meanwhile relegated Beganovic to sixth just before the second Safety Car of the race.
Max Esterson and Piotr Wisnicki had collided at the first chicane and were out of the running. Both drivers were OK, but their cars needed clearing away.
Tramnitz retained the lead but further back, Browning cleared Fornaroli into Turn 1 to take eighth place. The leader held on from Montoya and Ramos, while Dunne and Beganovic rounded out the top five.
Meguetounif cleared Boya after the Campos driver ran through the gravel at Ascari, a mistake that allowed Browning to move up one place further to earn seventh.
The full top 10 are- P1: Tramnitz, P2: Ramos, P3: Dunne, P4: Beganovic, P5: Meguetounif, P6: Browning, P7: Boya, P8: Fornaroli, P9: Mini and P10: Stenshorne.
Day 3 Feature Race-
Fornaroli covered off Alex Dunne immediately at lights out and retained his lead into the first chicane, with MP Motorsport following ahead of Mini in third.
Into Parabolica the Irish driver was down the inside of the Championship leader to take first. Just behind, teammate Sami Meguetounif took third from Mini with a slipstream into the first corner going into Lap 2.
Further back, Luke Browning was up to 11th from 13th on the grid after the opening lap, but dropped to 12th after compatriot Joseph Loake was able to get the tow on Lap 3.
Battling into Ascari, Browning was side-by-side with Nikola Tsolov but spun on corner entry, Several drivers then made contact in a separate incident further on in the corner to bring out a Safety Car with Shields, Floersch and Zagazeta left out of the running with damage. Browning was able to continue but was down in 26th position.
Back to racing conditions entering Lap 7, Dunne kept hold of the lead ahead of Fornaroli, but Mini dropped down to fifth after Christian Mansell got ahead into the first corner.
Fighting for the lead into Ascari, Fornaroli went wide mid-corner and took a trip through the gravel, dropping him down to fifth position and crucially behind Mini.
Up ahead, Meguetounif moved ahead of Dunne at Turn 1 under braking to take the lead on Lap 10. Mansell was on the move on the following lap, rounding Dunne at the Roggia chicane to take second place in ART.
Onto Lap 15 and Fornaroli was in the DRS of Dunne and through for third position at Turn 1 to put a car between himself and Mini. The PREMA driver put a pass on Dunne himself on the following lap to move into fourth position and keep Fornaroli in his sights.
Lap 18 and Fornaroli was on the move again, this time taking second position from Mansell at the first corner despite a sizeable lock-up. Mini followed through later on in the lap at Ascari to remain within a second of the championship leader.
Another lock-up on Lap 20 at Turn 1 for Fornaroli allowed Mini to close right onto the back of the Trident.
Onto the penultimate lap and Mini got the move down to pass his title rival who then had Mansell attacking into the Roggia chicane and the ART driver got ahead, tipping the title battle in favour of the PREMA driver.
Onto the final lap and Mini was desperate to keep Mansell behind and worked hard to break the tow. Fornaroli was in the wheel tracks of the ART out of the first chicane and tried to get a late-braking move done but had to skip across the second chicane, forcing him to hand the place back.
Meguetounif was clear to take his second win in F3 ahead of Mini, but with a final corner lunge on Mansell, Fornaroli cleared the Australian taking P3 and sealing the title.
The full top 10 are- P1: Meguetounif, P2: Fornaroli, P3: Mansell, P4: Dunne, P5: Stenshorne, P6: Tramnitz, P7: Leon, P8: Van Hoepen, P9: Beganovic and P10: Dufek.
After the conclusion of the Feature Race, several drivers have been given post-race penalties, while Gabriele Mini has been disqualified as the car had not met the minimum requirement with regards to its tyre pressures.
Consequently this promotes Leonardo Fornaroli to second and Christian Mansell to third.
Polesitter Kacper Sztuka had Leon tucked intot he slipstream from lights out and with the tow, the Mexican rounded the MP rookie to take the lead into the first chicane. Tramnitz followed through on his teammate to take second place before Goethe then moved himself up to third, having started sixth on the grid.
Contact for Campos’ Mari Boya left the Spaniard spinning at Turn 6 and in the gravel. That brought out the Safety Car before the opening lap was even completed.
Leon led the restart entering lap 4, with a comfortable buffer over Tramnitz in second and the VAR driver’s lead was 1.2s after the first lap under racing conditions.
The Safety Car came back out on lap 5, after Callum Voisin found the barriers on the exit of Turn 7. Contact with the Jenzer Motorsport car belonging to Charlie Wurz bounced the Rodin Motorsport driver wide and then into the wall.
Leon didn’t get the same launch as first time around as racing got back underway on lap 8, but despite his best efforts, Tramnitz couldn’t find room to pass into the first chicane.
Further back, Sami Meguetounif went spinning into the gravel after the slightest of touches with the rear of Dino Beganovic’s PREMA ahead of him into Turn 2. The Trident driver was left beached in the gravel and out of the race, requiring another Safety Car.
Gabriele Mini had been tucked up behind the ART Grand Prix car of Laurens van Hoepen, but the Italian driver finally cleared him into Turns 5 & 6 with a brave pass into the chicane.
There was a fourth Safety Car deployed on lap 13, but it was quickly withdrawn, and racing resumed on lap 15. Once again, Leon managed the restart perfectly to keep hold of the lead as the top three broke clear of the chasing pack.
Beganovic was able to pass Sztuka for fourth with two laps to go, as the Swede made his way by the MP rookie into the first chicane. Browning tried to follow the PREMA through but suffered contact with the Polish driver that broke his front wing and left him in the gravel at Turn 7.
The brief Virtual Safety car which was withdrawn on the final lap allowed Goethe to catch Leon unaware and take the lead out of Turn 15. The German led through the final corners to earn the Imola Sprint victory.
The full top 10 are- P1: Goethe, P2: Tramnitz, P3: Leon, P4: Beganoivc, P5: Sztuka, P6: Mini, P7: van Hoepen, P8: Lindblad, P9: Bedrin and P10: Ramos.
Day 3-
Santiago Ramos perfected his start and led the trio of Tridents flying in formation to the first chicane, Fornaroli and Meguetounif with tows close behind.
Sprint race winner, Oliver Goethe was following the Prema of Arvid Lindblad in the battle for fourth after climbing up three spots on the opening lap. The Campos driver was able to find a route through on the second lap to take P4 from the Briton.
Onto Lap 3 and Fornaroli had the tow with DRS to sweep into the lead of the race into the first chicane. Further back, Goethe took third from Meguetounif while Luke Browning made a move on the Prema of Dino Beganovic into the same corner.
With DRS, Goethe was by the pole sitter Ramos at Turn 2 on lap 5, brave on the brakes to sweep around the outside of the Mexican for P2. One lap later and the Red Bull Junior had the lead of the race after an issue for Fornaroli on the main straight put him down to fifth position.
Trident teammates Ramos and Meguetounif were in battle on lap 12 as the Frenchman cleared taking second position into Turn 2. Goethe meanwhile had built up his advantage in the lead and was ahead by 2.5s at the halfway point.
Fornaroli’s fightback continued at the expense of Ramos on lap 14, clearing his teammate to take third. Browning moved ahead of the Mexican driver on the next lap to move himself into P4 to keep title rival Fornaroli in sight.
Up ahead, Meguetounif had slowly closed down the gap on race leader Geothe and moved to within DRS range going into lap 17, just 0.7s behind across the line.
With five laps to go, the Frenchman rounded the Campos driver to take the lead at the first chicane, though Fornaroli was catching the pair with a lap over a second quicker that the top two.
The Italian was into DRS range of Goethe on lap 19 but couldn’t find a way to pass the Campos driver before the end. This left Meguetounif to take his maiden Formula 3 race win on Trident home soil ahead of Goethe and Fornaroli.
The full top 10 are- P1: Meguetounif, P2: Goethe, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Browning, P5: Beganovic, P6: Mini, P7: Lindblad, P8: Ramos, P9: Boya and P10: Montoya.
Trident have confirmed that Sami Meguetounif will be driving for them in FIA Formula 3 next year, this makes him the teams second signing.
Meguetounif joins the Italian team off the back of finishing ninth in the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. He took three podiums in his second campaign. He also completed post-season testing with Trident earlier this year, recording six top 10 session times.
The 19 year old’s racing career began in karting, where he became the French National Champion twice in 2017 and 2018 in the Rotax Junior category. Stepping up to single-seaters the following year, he made guest appearances in the Formula 4 South East Asia Championship and French F4.
Returning for a full-season in French F4 in 2020, he finished fourth overall with one win, two pole positions and eight podiums. He then switched to ADAC F4 for the 2021 season, he finished 11th in the Standings before moving up to FRECA, taking his maiden podium in the opening round.
2023 saw him begin the year competing in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, where he earned one win, two poles and two podiums before returning for his second FRECA campaign.
I’m really really really happy to be joining Trident. We all know the good job the team did in these past seasons. I’m very excited to start this new challenge and to be driving during the same race weekends as the big boys of Formula 1. I will work hard this winter to arrive in Bahrain well-prepared. I have already started working with the team during the post-season tests and they already taught me so much to make my adaptation to this new category better and help me go faster. I would also like to thank my sponsors for their amazing support.
Sami on the news.
We are delighted to welcome a promising driver like Sami Meguetounif to our line-up. The Marseille-born driver achieved good results in the FRECA championship and impressed the team’s technical staff in the collective 2024 preparation tests at Jerez, Barcelona and Imola. We are convinced that, by joining the Trident Motorsport family, Sami will find the right environment to make great steps within the motorsport ladder.
Jordan's Track Talk 