20-year-old Japanese racer Marino Sato will take part in his first full FIA Formula 2 season in 2020 as he becomes Trident’s first signing of the off-season.
Sato enjoyed a stellar 2019 season where he stormed to the Euroformula Open championship, taking nine wins and 11 podiums on his way to the title
Sato has more F2 experience than most making their debuts in the series in 2020 after he took control of the Campos machine for six races in 2019, but he failed to score a point.
He did come close to his first points at Monza with a twelfth and eleventh placed finish, just fractions from the elusive top ten.
“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.”
Trident finished bottom of the 2019 teams table with 23 points and were unfortunate to be involved in the horrific crash that took the life of Anthoine Hubert at Spa.
Looking ahead to a more fruitful 2020, team owner Maurizio Salvadori said: “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.“
The Formula 2 paddock will reconvene for their sole pre-season test at Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain on March 1-3 before the season begins in the Asian desert on March 21-22.
