Aiming to make an impact: Christian Mansell on his F2 step up with Trident

“I found out on Monday morning of Monza that I could potentially be doing the last three races of the F2 Championship, and over the race weekend, my father, my manager, were talking to Trident, and then it was a very easy decision.”
The late-season call-up to Formula 2 for Christian Mansell presented an opportunity the Australian has relished, and he proved he was ready for the call in Baku on debut.
Securing a top 10 spot in Qualifying, he started his maiden F2 race from reverse grid Pole Position in the Sprint Race, and secured P8 and a point at the first time of asking.
He followed that up with a measured drive to the points on Sunday in the Feature Race, and is now preparing for a final double-header to close out 2024.
But ahead of his debut, Mansell sat down to talk a bit more in depth about his opportunity with Trident and his hopes in the remaining races.
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“I’m super excited to be with Trident, because it’s a very big family basically. I mean, I spent basically three, four days in the factory and everyone knows everyone, and it’s a very positive work environment, and they’re always interested. It’s just a nice place to be, to be honest.
“I think the team manager, Giacomo Ricci, he’s a very, very nice guy, we have a good relationship, even before joining the team. I did the test with them in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year and I think, to be honest, it was a very good test.”
Baku wasn’t the first time Mansell has been at the wheel of a Trident F2 car after Mansell took part in post-season testing last year at Yas Marina Circuit.
Despite that, he says he wasn’t able to rely entirely on what he’d learned in the Abu Dhabi test, with the 2024 car brand new to him along with the Baku City Circuit.
“I think at the end of the day, race cars are race cars, you can learn as much as you can from the test in Abu Dhabi, but it’s also a new car. It’s a new team, it’s two new tracks. There’s a lot of new things. I think the best thing you could possibly do is try your best not to overload yourself and just drive the car and see how it feels.”
While there’s a break now before the F2 paddock reconvenes for the penultimate round of the 2024 campaign, Mansell says he won’t be overthinking things between now and then.
Like he did in Baku, the Australian will be taking things one race at a time and aiming to maximise his opportunities where possible.
“I haven’t really thought much about that. To be fair, I’m just sort of taking it race by race really, because I think that’s all you can really do.
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“There’s no point stressing about what’s going to happen in Qatar while I’m sitting in Baku. So, it’s going to be a very intense weekend for all intents and purposes, but, if something’s out of my control, then it’s out of my control.
“But if I can obviously make an impact and have a good result with the team, I would be over the moon. I don’t think anyone in Trident would complain about a good result and I would also be very, very happy.
“I’ve got no expectations to tell you the truth. I mean literally, I just want to get as much information as I possibly can. It’s the same thing as winning in F3 – I would love for a great result to happen, but if it doesn’t, then it doesn’t, it’s just fate.
“At the end of the day, I’m always going to try my hardest, and, I’ll come back here hopefully next year, fingers crossed and everything, the walls will be a little bit further away, and it’ll feel much more easy. But this is the reason why I’m doing these last few races, it’s to just get that experience, hopefully to put in to practice ready for next year.”