The 2025 F3 season kicked off in spectacular fashion at Albert Park over the 2025 Australian GP weekend. Not only did this weekend mark the beginning of a new era with the debut of the 2025-spec car and the introduction of 16-inch tyres; the weekend saw fresh faces storm the standings and a maiden win for the returning Santiago Ramos.
The Paddock Headlines:
- The 2025 F3 season has kicked off at the Australian GP with the debut of the new-spec F3 car and 16-inch tyres to aid in driver development.
- Rafael Câmara impressed in his first Formula 3 race weekend, securing P1 in Practice, Pole Position and Feature Race win on debut.
- Santiago Ramos secured his first victory in Formula 3, taking home the win in the Sprint race.
- The F3 drivers at least made it on-track on Sunday unlike their F2 counterparts, whose Feature Race was cancelled due to the torrential rain. The F3 Feature Race was kicked off with A ROLLING START for the safety of the young drivers, before incidents caused by worsening weather ended the race prematurely.
Câmara Makes an Entrance in Practice
TRIDENT’s Rafael Câmara wasted no time in turning heads during his F3 debut, topping the times in Practice. The 19-year-old, who moves to F3 from a third place finish in FRECA last season, set the pace with a 1:34.652 in Practice, posting his time shortly before a red flag ended the session prematurely. Rodin Motorsport’s Louis Sharp, who had kicked the session off, brought it to an end as he stopped on track ahead of Turn 4. The grid headed back to the pits, and the session was not resumed with five minutes left on the clock.
Pole for Câmara in a Perfect Season Kickoff
Câmara, hot off a strong first session, then clinched the first pole position of the year with a 1:34.999 in Qualifying. However, the Ferrari Academy Driver had to fight for it; a strong start to the session was hindered by traffic as the 28 drivers fought for track position. Câmara timed his run to buy himself some space on-track, storming to P1 an impressive half-a-second clear of the field. His teammate Noah Stromsted whittled that gap down to 0.129s, ensuring a front-row lockout for TRIDENT, while Van Amersfoort Racing’s Théophile Nael took third.
Nael, however, was placed under investigation for an unsafe release from the pits after he headed back on-track with his airbox still attached to the car. Van Amersfoort racing were ordered to pay 500 Euros to the FIA for releasing the car in an unsafe condition.
The session was disrupted by two Red Flags, both incidents falling in the final ten minutes of running. Brando Badoer found the barriers at Turn 2 with ten minutes to go, briefly pausing running. The McLaren Junior was later penalised for this, being deemed solely responsible for causing the red flag and having his fastest lap time deleted, demoting the Italian from P19 to P28. Once running resumed, the red flags were quickly brought back out when when Christian Ho stopped on track. Despite the interruptions at the hands of the rookies, TRIDENT’s performance set the stage for a strong weekend.
FEATURE RACE STARTING 4:
- P1: Santiago RAMOS (Van Amersfoort Racing)
- P2: Matias ZAGAZETA (DAMS)
- P3: Roman BILINSKI (Rodin)
- P4: Martinius STENSHORNE (Hitech)
SPRINT RACE STARTING 4:
- P1: Rafael CAMARA (TRIDENT)
- P2: Noah STROMSTED (TRIDENT)
- P3: Theophile NAEL (Van Amersfoort Racing)
- P4: Nikita BEDRIN (AIX)
Ramos Secures Maiden Sprint Win Amidst Penalties
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Santiago Ramos claimed his first FIA Formula 3 victory in the Sprint Race, holding off Martinius Stenshorne of Hitech TGR to take the win. Rodin Motorsport’s Roman Bilinski rounded out the podium in an impressive debut.
Multiple Safety Car interruptions plagued the race; the first on Lap 2 when Charlie Wurz’ TRIDENT stopped at Turn 5. The incident didn’t just cause woes for those involved in the shunt; MP’s Alessandro Giusti found himself on the receiving end of the Stewards for overtaking Ugo Ugochukwu during the Safety Car. The French driver was dealt a ten-second penalty for the infringement, however in a somewhat unusual turn of events, the penalty was later overturned after the race. The Stewards had looked again at the incident armed with new video evidence, and determined that Giusti had immediately given the place back to the PREMA. Giusti was reinstated into P11 in the Sprint classifications, knocking on the door of the top ten in his first race of his F3 career.
New Regulations Out On Show
A less fortunate driver who was instead handed a penalty after the race was James Wharton. The ART was deemed by the stewards to have caused a collision with Rafael Câmara and Laurens van Hoepen, triggering the second Safety Car and ending all three drivers’ races. As a result, the Brit was dealt a ten-second time penalty. New regulations for 2025 mean that because Wharton failed to classify in the F3 Sprint, the penalty will be converted into a five-place grid drop for the next race weekend in Bahrain.
In the closing stages, contact between Bruno Del Pino and Javier Sagrera at Turn 6 triggered a late Safety Car, which ultimately ended the race prematurely. The final incident of the session meant seven drivers failed to finish the first Sprint of the season.
TOP 4 FINISHERS:
- P1: Santiago RAMOS (Van Amersfoort Racing)
- P2: Martinius STENSHORNE (Hitech)
- P3: Roman BILINSKI (Rodin)
- P4: Tasanapol INTHRAPHUVASAK (Campos)
Câmara Untouchable in the Wet Feature Race
Heavy rain on Sunday posed a new challenge, but it was Rafael Câmara who emerged victorious in the conditions to win the first Feature Race not only of the season, but of his F3 career. Starting from pole, the TRIDENT driver pulled away during the rolling start, before the Safety Car was deployed on due to incidents involving Nikola Tsolov and Callum Voisin. Both F3 veterans were off the road at Turn 10, triggering a Safety Car before the opening lap had even concluded.
Câmara maintained control at the restart and edged five seconds clear of the pack when racing was once again called off and the Safety Car was back out on Lap 13. Rookie Christian Ho careered into the barriers on the slippy Albert Park circuit, forcing the drivers back into close proximity and worsening visibility. With the conditions continuing to deteriorate, the race was red-flagged on Lap 18 never to resume, securing Câmara’s maiden F3 win. Teammate Noah Stromsted finished second, sealing a TRIDENT one-two, while Van Amersfoort Racing’s Théophile Nael secured third.
With his Feature Race win and fastest lap, Câmara surged to the top of the Drivers’ Championship with 28 points, ahead of Nael (19) and Stromsted (18). In the Teams’ Championship, TRIDENT’s dominant weekend put them on 54 points, well ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing (29) and AIX Racing (17).
TOP 4 FINISHERS:
- P1: Rafael CAMARA (TRIDENT)
- P2: Noah STROMSTED (TRIDENT)
- P3: Theophile NAEL (Van Amersfoort Racing)
- P4: Nikita BEDRIN (AIX)
Bahrain Beckons
Next up for the Formula 3 teams is a bout of in-season testing in Sakhir, Bahrain from the 26th to 28th of March. Teams will be back in the desert again from the 11th to 13th of April, at the Bahrain International Circuit for the second round of the season.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: PREMA Racing
[…] The 19-year-old rookie has emerged victorious from both Feature Races this season, winning both Australia and Sakhir, solidifying his position as a title favourite early in the […]