Roman Stanek opened up about the financial troubles he faced earlier in the FIA Formula 2 Championship season and how he has managed to put them to bed for the time being.
Trident rookie Stanek, who is currently 19th in the standings with four races to go, said in an interview with Czech outlet iDNES in late July, just after the Spa round, that he was unsure about his ability to continue in the championship as his funds had dried up.
But despite being unsure about whether he would return for the next F2 round at Zandvoort – or any other car race, for that matter – Stanek was present for both that race weekend and the penultimate one this weekend at Monza.
Stanek qualified third today, two-tenths off pole-sitter Théo Pourchaire, and spoke to InsideF2 in the post-Qualifying press conference about how the financial situation developed and what it meant for his 2024 plans.
“Coming back to Spa, we had some financial issues because obviously the season is not, or was not, going as we were expecting,” Stanek said. “That’s why some sponsors, they started to support me.
“But luckily, with my family, we found a way how to keep going, so I really appreciate that they are supporting me. I’m here, I finished third, so it’s satisfying.
“About next season, I still don’t know, but it looks like that we will try again to race in in this championship. We just need a budget now, so let’s see.”
InsideF2 understands that since Spa, Stanek has also been in negotiations for other sources of funding besides his family’s account.
Stanek’s Trident team had a breakthrough at Zandvoort, scoring their first F2 race victory since the 2022 season opener and their first Feature Race victory in more than nine years thanks to Clément Novalak’s maiden F2 win.
When asked by InsideF2 about the significance of the result and how it changed expectations, Stanek said, “It was a bit tough for me seeing my teammate winning, but I was very happy for him, and it definitely boosted the whole team for this weekend, so [it] was good. Now it’s my time to deliver.”
Image: Formula Motorsport Limited
