Trident have sealed the signing of Japanese racer Marino Sato for his first full season of FIA Formula 2. The 20-year-old joins on the back of the taking the 2019 EuroFormula Open title, with a total of nine wins and 11 podiums.

Sato entered the final four rounds of the 2019 F2 campaign with Campos, earning his first racing experience in F2. He then switched seats to Trident for post-season testing in December at Yas Marina, impressing the squad enough to earn a drive for 2020.

“I’m happy to be joining the Italian squad for Formula 2 in the 2020 season,” Sato elated. “I really appreciate everyone who’s involved to make this happen. To be racing in here will mean a lot for me, and of course for the future as well so can’t wait to get started.”

The 20-year-old made his single-seater debut back in 2015, competing in Italian F4 for two seasons, before moving to European F3 for two years, where he scored 19th and 16th in the Drivers’ standings.

Team Owner Maurizio Salvadori added: “We are very happy to announce that Marino Sato will compete for Team Trident in the 2020 FIA ​​Formula 2 Championship. Marino is a very professional racer with great talent.

“His recent, overwhelming, success in the Euroformula Open shows that Marino knows the art of winning races, a talent that only a few pilots have. I am sure that he will keep growing and improving under the Team Trident banner, and conquer the most ambitious goals."

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Trident finished 10th in the F2 2019 Teams’ Championship and will look to Sato to help them push up the table. Team Manage Giacomo Ricci added: Marino Sato is a young driver with limited experience in a very competitive championship like FIA ​​Formula 2.

“Our technical staff was positively impressed by the quality of his work in the post-season test carried out at Yas Marina last December and will provide its best efforts to help him grow up during the season.

“In the first days of March, the series will line-up for a pre-season test session at Sakhir circuit. The Bahraini venue will also host the series opener on the 21st and 22nd of March. It will be very important to do a good job with Marino to start the championship in a positive fashion."