TRIDENT 2025 Season Review: A tough year but working on improving for 2026

17 December 2025

For TRIDENT Team Manager Giacomo Ricci, the 2025 season was a tough one after they finished last in the Teams’ Standings. But he is confident that they can improve and achieve their targets in 2026.

The Italian outfit scored just two points this year, but speaking at the Yas Marina post-season test, where they started work with their new drivers Laurens van Hoepen and John Bennett, Ricci says there is a lot of hope for the future.

“It's not been the greatest season, I have to say,” he said. “We have been trying hard without finding the right way. We had some positive results here and there throughout the season, especially in Qualifying.

“In the races, we were not lucky at times, like when the strategy does not go in your direction, and that happened on a couple of occasions, which is a bit unfortunate for us.

“We are working hard for the future, in order to move things forward. Both seats are signed for the upcoming season, with both John and Laurens, so we are really happy about our line-up.

Team Manager Giacomo Ricci says TRIDENT are working hard to improve for 2026

“Now we are using this post-season test to investigate all areas that we believe were not done in the past in order to provide the best package to our drivers for the upcoming season.”

When asked whether TRIDENT had a clear idea of where they needed to improve for 2026, Ricci pointed to their strong performances on street tracks compared to permanent circuits as a starting point.

“We have an idea on what did not work perfectly,” said Ricci. “We know that we have a good car for the street circuits, while on the other tracks we have to improve.

“The grid of course is very tight, so when you are off three or four tenths, it's a lot. So, we know what we have to do, and the engineers and everyone are working as hard as possible to move things forward for the future. This is our target and we will do our very best to achieve this.”

Laurens van Hoepen completed the final three rounds of the season with TRIDENT

What will help TRIDENT moving forward is they have a lineup that has F2 experience, with Bennett returning for his second season in the Championship, while van Hoepen completed the final three rounds of 2025 with the team.

“They are also learning,” said Ricci on his 2026 lineup. “John has one year of experience with the car, this is a plus for sure, and Laurens did the last three rounds with us plus the post-season test, so he is getting experience, getting more comfortable with the team and the car.

“So it’s all positive. We are really dedicating this time not to the final performance, but to further our understanding. With the post-season test the times do not count, so I am never worried so much.

“The most important thing is when the time comes next year, when it counts, to be up on pace and to be able to compete to stay within the top 10 positions, it's our target, it would be the first step for us.”