John Bennett returns for his second Formula 2 campaign in 2026, joining forces with TRIDENT after driving for Van Amersfoort Racing in 2025.
The Brit made his F2 debut with the team at the 2024 Lusail round, scoring points in the Feature Race with a P8 finish. Van Amersfoort Racing later signed him on as a full-time F2 driver for 2025, though the year did not unfold as he had wished. Bennett struggled throughout the season, scoring points only at Monza with a P10 finish, leaving him 22nd in the Drivers’ Standings.
Speaking to the media, including Pit Debrief, Bennett discussed his goals and expectations for the season with TRIDENT.
Bennett on TRIDENT’s 2026 potential
When asked by Pit Debrief whether he believes that TRIDENT can gain a competitive edge, especially with how tight pre-season testing had looked in terms of performance gaps, Bennett said: “Yeah, I think it does look super close. The Barcelona testing was closer than I think I remember last year being.”
The Italian team experienced mixed results in Barcelona, with Bennett impressing on Day 2 by finishing P3, just 0.034 seconds off the top time. His new teammate Laurens van Hoepen set his best time on Day 3 with a 1:23.671, finishing P4.
He continued: “Obviously Trident, it’s a whole new lineup. My first time with the team, Laurens’s first time with the team. There’s a couple new staff working there too, new engineers. So yeah, it’s a really new lineup. They’ve put in so much work over winter, as have I and Laurens. And yeah, I think that showed in the testing. It was really quite strong, and especially on the short run pace.
“So we’ve still got a lot of work to do, and you know, testing isn’t the race weekend. But I think for sure, yeah, we’ve taken big steps forward over winter. And yeah, we should be going into Australia in quite a strong position.”
TRIDENT endured a difficult 2025 campaign, finishing 10th in the Teams’ Standings with just two points, making a strong 2026 comeback crucial.
Experience brings confidence
Bennett moved up to Formula 2 after competing in the GB3 Championship for three seasons, finishing second in the 2024 standings. Now, with a year of F2 experience and adjustments under his belt, Bennett highlighted that his growing confidence will be key for his 2026 campaign.
“Yeah, for sure, a lot. It makes a huge difference. The jump from GB3 to F2 is absolutely massive. I didn’t know so many of the tracks. Everything was very new to me. You know, I never really even dreamt that I’d be in Formula 2 one day. So to be coming back for a second season definitely means a lot.”
“And yeah, it brings me with a lot of confidence. You know, everything feels normal now. I know what I’m doing, I know how the car behaves, I know all the tracks now. So yeah, I have a lot of confidence starting the year and I think it should be much improved.”
Turning pace into consistent results
Although Bennett showed flashes of potential throughout 2025, he often struggled with translating race pace into consistent results. Monza marked one of his strongest races as he executed a decisive overtake on Jak Crawford on the final lap to claim P10. While Austria marked another breakthrough, as he secured his first-ever F2 Sprint Race pole, running in the points until an unfortunate last-lap incident forced him to retire.
With that, consistency remains the central goal for the new season.
“Yeah, great question. Yeah, we’re putting in a lot of work over winter. You know, I think the race pace is actually something that was quite strong from when I first jumped in, even for my debut at Qatar. Yeah, and like you said, you know, Red Bull Ring was really strong until the unfortunate last lap. Monza was quite decent. Yeah, it’s something that I found that I got into a groove quite quickly.
“You know, we struggled as a team at points throughout the year. But yeah, I for sure would say it was one of my strengths.”
“But over winter, I’ve just been putting in loads of laps on the sim really. And yeah, with each round last year, I was just building my experience, getting used to how the tyres feel, used to what different tracks need from the driver in the car.”
And then yeah, also putting in all the work with Trident, seeing what their philosophy is towards the race stints and all that sort of stuff. I think the main thing’s just been a lot of work over winter, doing my homework and yeah, building on what I learned last year,” he concluded.
