Racer Maini joins Trident team for F2 season

Young racer Arjun Maini on Wednesday confirmed his association with the Trident team for the upcoming 2018 FIA Formula 2 season.

Maini moves to the F2 after competing in the GP3 Series where he achieved a historic victory in Barcelona, as the first Indian to win a race in the GP3 Series. He followed the victory with a podium in Race 1 at the season ending Abu Dhabi round. His victory in Barcelona was also judged the best win of the year by the GP3 paddock.

Testing in the post-season FIA F2 as a rookie, Arjun also displayed remarkable pace, topping two out of the six sessions, making the transition to Formula 2 a natural progression.

"I'm very excited to be competing in the FIA Formula 2 championship with Trident Motorsport. I felt we were quite competitive during the post-season test and given that the series is using all new cars for the coming season, I'm quite excited for the year ahead," Maini, supported by JK Racing and TVS Racing, said in a release.

"Trident is a very strong team and I'm sure if we work hard we'll be in for some strong results during the course of the season."

Trident, a team based in Italy, began competing in the GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2) in 2006 and was founded by Italian entertainment mogul Maurizio Salvadori.

The team has a strong pedigree in the series having run ex-Formula One driver Gianmaria Bruni in its first year of racing and featured several notable names in motorsport, including the likes of former Formula One driver and race winner Pastor Maldonado and ex-Ferrari Driver Academy star Raffaele Marciello.

Salvadori said, "Arjun is an undoubtedly valuable prospect who has all that it takes to be among the future stars of motorsports for years to come. It is certainly not by chance that Haas F1 Team selected him to join their development driver programme.

"Team Trident will provide Arjun with the experience and energy needed for him to continue growing and reach his ultimate professional goals."

Along with racing for Trident, Arjun will continue his association with Haas F1 Team as a development driver, which will see him embedded with the team, attending races and tests throughout the year while also participating in the team's simulator programme.

Guenther Steiner, Haas F1 Team Principal said: "As Haas F1 Team continues to mature, we must look toward our future and develop potential talent. Arjun was successful in karting and has transitioned well to various Formula series, winning quickly in GP3. We'll keep a keen eye on his progress this year in F2."

The FIA Formula 2 Championship kicks off at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain from April 6.

--IANS

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