GP2: Marciello says don't write Trident off

Ferrari Formula 1 protege Raffaele Marciello doesn't think Trident Racing's lack of GP2 pedigree will affect his 2015 title bid.

After winning the Formula 3 European Championship in 2013, Marciello was eighth in GP2 last season with Racing Engineering, winning the feature race at Spa.

For 2015, the Sauber F1 reserve moves to Trident, which had an average teams' championship position of 9.625 in eight GP2 seasons through to 2013. However, a pair of wins from fifth-year GP2 driver Johnny Cecotto Jr. helped the Italian squad to third in 2014, and Marciello holds no fears about the switch.

"I think Trident are really good guys," he said. "They are really experienced. They have been in GP2 for a long time. I don't see any reason why we cannot go fast.

"The car was really good in the test. I feel good with the engineers and mechanics, so for me we can fight with ART and DAMS."

Including Cecotto's third last year, only twice has a Trident driver finished inside the top 10 of the GP2 standings, however Marciello feels the caliber of drivers was more of a factor than the team itself.

The Italian was fifth in Bahrain's pre-season test a fortnight ago, with the circuit also hosting this weekend's season opener. Pacesetter Pierre Gasly and fellow expected title contenders Stoffel Vandoorne, Mitch Evans, Alexander Rossi, Marciello and Alex Lynn were covered by just 0.252 seconds.

"It's important to have a good car, but also a good driver because during the year you need to work always," he said. "If I'm able to give the right information, for sure they are able to work better on the car. What is good is we can work together well."

Originally on Autosport.com