John Bennett enters his F2 2026 season with TRIDENT feeling more prepared than ever before. The British driver returns for his second season in FIA Formula 2 after gaining valuable experience in 2025 with the team.
The TRIDENT driver enjoyed a positive Barcelona test before the season opener in Melbourne. Bennett’s F2 2026 season preparations included new training methods and a focus on translating last year’s lessons into consistent results.
Excitement for new team and familiar faces for the 2026 F2 season
Bennett expressed enthusiasm about joining TRIDENT for his 2026 F2 season campaign. The opportunity to race at Formula 2 level represents a privilege he does not take for granted.
“Super excited. It’s a massive privilege and honour to be able to race in Formula 2 at this level. I just can’t wait to get started again. I’m really looking forward to working with a new team and looking forward to getting good results.”
The team change brought an unexpected reunion. Bennett’s new engineer previously worked with him before both joined TRIDENT. “My new engineer is actually one that I’ve worked with before, which is cool. He was my VAR F3 engineer during the test I did, and then he joined Trident F2. Now I’ve joined Trident F2, it’s all come around full circle.”
The established relationship provides continuity despite the team change during Bennett’s F2 2026 season move. “We’ve worked together in the past. New team, but same engineer, so it’s really good to continue building on that relationship that was successful back then,” he stated.
How Bennett’s F2 experience fuels his confidence for the 2026 season
Bennett believes his 2025 experience will prove pivotal during his F2 2026 season with TRIDENT. The learning curve from last year positions him better for the challenges ahead.
“There’s a lot of things we’re trying as a team to help progress the car going into this year. So, there’s a big focus on that and then more on the personal side, we’re working on race pace and tyre management.”
Barcelona’s characteristics made it ideal for testing race pace and degradation management. “Barcelona is quite a good track for that, it’s quite high deg, and then you’re working on adapting between the Hard and the Soft compounds,” he stated.
Bennett emphasised how his familiarity changes his approach for his F2 2026 season. “Last year I was really thrown in at the deep end, didn’t really know any of the tracks. And there’s a lot of changes coming into Formula 2. Whereas now with that year of experience under my belt, I feel a lot more confident going into the season,” he stated.
A new preparation method for the upcoming F2 season
Bennett adopted new preparation methods ahead of the upcoming campaign. Traditional simulator work and fitness training continued, but one element represented a significant change.
“In terms of preparations, the main thing is a lot of simulator work, a lot of fitness, running, gym, and then a new one for me actually is go-karting.”
Bennett’s motorsport career started later than most drivers. “I didn’t really go-kart growing up. I kind of just started in motorsport super late when I was like 16, 17, and never competed in Britain or internationally in karting, but TRIDENT are actually very big into preparing with go-karts and shifter karts, which are super-fast.”
TRIDENT’s emphasis on karting training introduced Bennett to a new physical challenge for the 2026 F2 season. The experience added variety to his winter preparation routine: “So I’ve actually been getting into that, it’s very physical as well. So that’s been a lot of fun and a fun way to have some sort of new training over the winter,” Bennett stated.
Bennett targets consistency and top-10 qualifying in 2026
Bennett set clear objectives for early rounds of his F2 2026 season. Consistency represents the primary goal after experiencing the difficulty of recovering from poor qualifying positions.
“I’m just building on what I’ve learned. Making clear progression with every round I think is the main goal. The main goal really is just to be consistently in the top 10 now.”
He referenced his qualifying performance in Austria last year as evidence of how starting position affects weekend outcomes: “I qualified in the top 10 at Red Bull Ring, it just makes such a difference what you can fight for across the weekend, be it in the Sprint Race or Feature. It just gives you such a good chance of points in both races. So that’s the main goal really,” he concluded.
Stronger qualifying results will maximise potential across Bennett’s F2 2026 season. Second-year experience, new training methods, and a familiar engineering relationship position Bennett to target consistent top-10 qualifying and points-scoring results as the season begins in Melbourne.
