Lorandi named as Ferrucci replacement at Trident

Alessio Lorandi has been named as Santino Ferrucci's replacement at Trident for the remainder of the Formula 2 campaign.

Ferrucci was sacked by Trident after picking up a four-race ban and a €60,000 fine for intentionally clashing with teammate and fellow Haas Formula 1 development driver Arjun Maini during a cool-down lap at Silverstone.

The American driver’s rap sheet lengthened after a further investigation found him driving his car without a glove and using his mobile phone on the way to the F2 paddock at the British circuit, while the FIA blocked a request from the driver to run a special livery with US President Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan. Trident cited payment issues for the reason it terminated Ferrucci's contract earlier this month.

Trident has promoted Lorandi from its GP3 Series driver line-up into F2 for the remainder of 2018 to compete alongside Maini. The Italian driver claimed a first podium finish of the year in the feature race at the Red Bull Ring and is currently seventh in the drivers’ standings.

“I’m really happy and extremely motivated. I will need to adapt myself to the car really quickly and there will be a lot of things to learn,” Lorandi said.

“I am working hard with the team to prepare for my debut at Hungaroring. I am really excited about this amazing new challenge.”

Trident team manager Giacomo Ricci is eager to create ‘a tight-knit pairing’ in his new F2 driver line-up following the clashes between Maini and Ferrucci earlier this year.

“We are delighted to promote Alessio Lorandi to our line-up for the FIA Formula 2 Championship,” Ricci said. “His experience and driving style impressed Team Trident’s technical staff, and they believe he is ready to take a step up to Formula 2.

“Lorandi will receive maximum support from the team so he will be able to quickly learn all the secrets of the new series for him.

“With Alessio and Arjun, the team will be able to rely on a tight-knit pairing. They have already been team-mates in Formula 3 so we are sure that they will work well together.”