Trident will field an all-new line-up for the 2025 FIA Formula 2 season, with Sami Maguetounif and Max Esterson stepping up from F3 for their first full F2 season. After three productive days of pre-season testing, select media, including Pit Debrief, had the opportunity to speak to the duo about their adjustment to F2, and their expectations for the season ahead.
Meguetounif focused on self and team ahead of rookie season
After a relatively successful debut 2024 season in F3, which saw him finish eighth in the drivers’ championship with two wins, Sami Meguetounif will make his F2 debut at the season opener in Melbourne. This will be the French driver’s second consecutive season as a rookie. However, though he has not yet tested an F2 car under race conditions, Meguetounif is confident as he heads into the 2025 F2 season.
“Yeah, but basically now it’s been two seasons in a row. I’m a rookie, as I was in F3 last year. To be honest, I don’t have many questions, many doubts about this.”
“Many drivers that drove with me in F3 did the end of the season in Formula 2, so they could see a bit how is a race weekend. I couldn’t, unfortunately, but at the end, yeah, it’s okay.”
He explained that he had focused on his preparation for the season, and but dismissed the notion that his rookie status or lack of experience would too significantly hinder his championship fight.
“I’m focused on my preparation of this winter. I prepared a lot the testing in Barcelona to use these three days to gain as much as possible of experience.”
“At the end, I’m just focused on myself, focused on the work we are doing with the team, and we will see we will see how we can fight, but for me, it’s not a big deal.”
Meguetounif and Esterson motivated for 2025 rookie season
While Meguetounif acknowledges that there are disadvantages to Trident’s all-rookie pairing, he believes that he and Esterson bring “more fresh air” to F2.
“Of course, it’s a big challenge for us, for the team, because having an experienced teammate is always a plus.”
“So for us, it’s not the case. But I think we bring, let’s say, more fresh air. We bring a lot of motivation and we give a bit more work, maybe, to the engineers to spend more time explaining and going through some stuff about strategy, tyre management or more specific Formula 2 things.”
However, Meguetounif believes that his F3 experience has given him a ” good base” for F2. While he identified some challenges, he stated that he was “looking forward” to gaining experience.
“But personally, my feeling is that with the Formula 3 season, I’ve learned a lot and it really gave me already a very good base to work on my F2 season. At the end, I feel only the race [will be] longer with the pit stop and this thing of tyre strategy. But on the rest, I don’t feel it’s super, super far away from what I’ve experienced in F3.”
“And yeah, I’m looking forward to have a mature season. Even being a rookie, I’m really working on that. I think it was my weakest point in Formula 3, having good speed, but missed a bit of consistency during the season.”
He reiterated his focus and excitement for the season ahead.
“So myself, I’m really focused and working on that. And I look at, let’s say, Monaco event and the two Italian races as it’s our home races and where I won in F3. So for me, it’s quite particular [and] I’m excited about those three, let’s say.”
Esterson expects the races to be “the hardest bit”
Meguetounif’s teammate, Max Esterson, was less confident than his teammate, highlighting that he and his Trident teammate were likely to struggle with the small details of F2 racing than more experienced drivers. He stated that he expected the races to be the most difficult adjustment, claiming that qualifying was “more or less the same” as in F3. However, while Esterson is aware of the challenges that he and his teammate are likely to face, he states that he hopes that they get a handle on those issues quickly.
“Yeah, I think the hardest bit will be definitely the races. I mean, quali is more or less the same as F3 in terms of strategy and how you have to approach it.”
“But I think the races with the pit stop and the tyre management is the hardest bit, especially things like in-laps and out-laps.Out-laps on cold tyres, I think, is where an experienced driver can make up a lot of time and knowing when to box. I mean, if you box one lap too late on an old set of tyres, it could be the difference between first and fifth, for example.”
“So I think these small details are something where we’ll struggle maybe a bit at the start, but we’ll hope to get it pretty quickly.”
Meguetounif felt “very good” on final day of 2025 F2 pre-season testing
Meguetounif’s optimism may be well-placed as the French driver enjoyed a strong pre-season, even topping the timesheets on the final day of testing. While the Trident driver admits that he had had more chances to be “at the front” due to his alternative testing plan, he did not deny that the session had produced promising results.
“Yeah, obviously, the ranking of the third day, I think, is something to take with maybe deeper analysis because I was one of the few with new option set of tyres on the third day. So, I had more chances of being at the front.”
“But at the same time, if we look at the lap time, it’s true that it was a very fast lap time considering it was an afternoon lap time with a track that is normally slower because of higher temperature. So, it’s very, very hard to analyse even more with that lap time being on the third day afternoon.”
Meguetounif “confident” ahead of Melbourne opener but urges calm
He added that he had felt very comfortable on the final day of testing and described the experience as “encouraging.”
“But the most important is that I felt very good on that third day. I felt very good with the car. I think on my personal driving work, let’s say, I felt at the best of the three days. And yeah, that’s very encouraging.”
“That’s very nice to end, let’s say, the test and to bring a bit of, let’s say, results that all the work that the engineers made this winter has come to something positive and interesting.”
However, while the Frenchman will be arriving in Melbourne with more confidence, he urges calm, noting that he and the team will keep working towards maximising their performance.
“And also for me arriving in Melbourne, maybe with more confidence. But at the same time, we stay really calm about this. It’s not, as you said, very hard to analyse the results.”
“But yeah, we just stay calm and we keep working. And it’s just, let’s say, a bit of positive in the middle of all the work we are putting [in].”
Familiar environment helping Meguetounif’s transition to F2
Meguetounif’s transition to F2 has also been helped by the familiar environment at Trident. In response to a question by Pit Debrief, Meguetounif explained that while he was working with a new team, staying at the team with which he had competed in F3 had made his transition calmer and had helped his confidence.
“For me, I know Trident, I know the environment, the workshop, I know since Formula 3. So, in my case, it’s more like an advantage of staying in the family, let’s say, staying in the environment that I really like and I really enjoyed working within Formula 3.”
“But at the same time, as it’s a different category, it’s also different people in the team. I think only the team manager remains the same for F3 and F2 in Trident. So, basically, I’m working with a new team, with new people completely, from mechanics to engineers.”
“At the end, yeah, I discover[ed] also some different ways of working from that F3 team to the F2 team.”
“But staying in the same place is good for me and I feel, let’s say, more confident and maybe more calm in my mind to stay in that environment that I already know.”
Esterson happy to be a part of team “with so much experience”
Unlike his teammate, Esterson is less familiar with the Italian team, having joined them only at the end of the 2024 F2 season when he replaced Richard Verschoor who switched to MP Motorsport, replacing Dennis Hauger.
Esterson described his experience with Trident as “good so far”, noting that it was the first time driving with a “big team.” He added that the team’s experience, history and resources had been “super helpful” as he adjusted to F2.
“Yeah, it’s my first time in my career driving for what I would call a big team, I guess, with a lot of resources and, yeah, a lot of engineers, so that’s new for me.”
“It’s been good so far. It’s nice to have a team with so much experience, and yeah, it’s nice to have a good simulator and lots of history to look back on and data to look at. So, for me, that’s been super helpful.”
Esterson hopeful that sim racing offers a new pathway for young drivers
Esterson has followed a different path to F2. He started his career in sim racing on iRacing at the age of 11 before moving to karting at almost 16 years old. When asked about four-time world champion Max Verstappen’s efforts to increase accessibility to motorsport through sim racing, Esterson described it as “great.”
“Yeah, I think it’s great. I mean, there’s so many good drivers now on the sim. The talent pool is much bigger than the real thing.”
He highlighted the high level of racing on iRacing and stated that he hoped that Verstappen’s efforts would not go in vain.
“And I think the level on iRacing, for example, is just as high as F1 in some ways. So it’s great that he’s able to do that. And obviously, Max, I think, is one of the best on the sim at the moment.”
“So, yeah, it’s nice to see and hopefully it leads to something.”
