Alessio Lorandi will graduate to Formula 2 at this weekend’s Hungaroring round, taking the place of the banned and sacked Santino Ferrucci at Trident.
Haas F1 development driver Ferrucci was handed a two-round suspension from the series for a sequence of events at Silverstone, most notably hitting team-mate Arjun Maini after the chequered flag.
Trident acted swiftly in the aftermath by denouncing the behaviour of Ferrucci before confirming that it had terminated his contract, and had begun legal proceedings against the American and his associates.
Lorandi has competed in GP3 since the latter stages of 2016 and last season placed seventh for Jenzer, a position he currently holds this year, having made the switch to Trident.
"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. I am working hard with the team to prepare for my debut at Hungaroring. I am really excited about this amazing new challenge," commented Lorandi.
Trident team manager Giacomo Ricci added: "We are delighted to promote Alessio Lorandi to our line-up for the FIA Formula 2 Championship. 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."
