Rafael Câmara beat Mari Boya and Nikola Tsolov to the 2025 F3 title before the final race in Monza. He won the championship following the feature race in Budapest, as the curtains will close on an exhilarating season this week. Read our season roundup to look back on an exciting season.
The Chronicle Headlines
- Câmara claims F3 title before final race in Monza – The 20-year-old Brazilian became Trident’s third consecutive F3 champion, following in the footsteps of Gabriel Bortoleto and Leonardo Fornaroli.
- Boya & Tsolov scrap for second in the standings – The duo are 48 points back from the champion, with other drivers in the hunt.
- Callum Voisin’s tough season – The British driver has struggled this year, as he heads to Monza on a three-race pointless streak. Despite the challenges, he joined an exclusive group of young prospects for the 2025 Berlin Rookie Test.
- Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak makes history as the first Thai driver to secure an F3 victory, winning the Silverstone Sprint.
Câmara won the F3 title with a race to spare
Rafael Câmara clinched the 2025 FIA Formula 3 championship title in Hungary ahead of the final race of the season in Monza.
His feature race win in Budapest was his fourth victory of the season, previously excelling in Australia, Bahrain and Barcelona, and secured a deserved championship title.
The Scuderia Ferrari Academy driver follows in the footsteps of his Trident predecessors, Gabriel Bortoleto and Leonardo Fornaroli, who won the F3 championship the previous two seasons, respectively.
The 20-year-old Brazilian stands as the only driver to have won Formula 3 with a race to spare since the competition’s introduction in 2019.
Giacomo Ricci, Trident Team Manager, said:
“It’s special for us, for the team, winning the title with one round left, with a new car, it’s an amazing feeling,” adding, “In my opinion, he was the quickest this year. He was on top in every condition”.
Following their respective F3 titles, Bortoleto and Fornaroli have performed exceptionally well in Formula 2 the next year, with the former claiming the title in 2024, and the latter currently leading the standings.
Pressure will therefore mount on Câmara to deliver next season in F2 if the stars align for Fornaroli heading into the season’s final four races.
Runner-up contention
Câmara’s closest championship rival was Mari Boya, trailing by 48 points, as he is set to complete his second Formula 3 season with Campos Racing.
Nikola Tsolov has both a sprint and feature race win under his belt this year, but trails his Campos teammate in the standings.
Boya and Tsolov joined F3 in 2023 for MP Motorsport and ART, respectively, and have significantly stepped up this year.
A Formula 2 seat could open for the pair at Campos, but Spaniard Josep Maria “Pepe” Martí and Red Bull Academy prospect Arvid Lindblad are currently occupying those seats.
Fellow Red Bull Junior, Tim Tramnitz, has struggled towards the tail-end of the championship, not scoring a single point in his last three races. A second-place finish in Spielberg was the last time he added to his tally and will look to improve in Monza.
Additionally, the 20-year-old German has one sprint race win to his name at Imola, in an MP Motorsport one-two finish, with teammate Bruno del Pino joining him on the podium. Can the German driver perform at Italy’s alternative circuit – the Autodromo Nazionale Monza?
Martinius Stenshorne is 28 points behind Boya, as the Norwegian McLaren Development driver will have to claw his way up the standings with a strong result in Italy.
The 19-year-old has won two sprints and one feature race this season, in addition to his maiden sprint race win at Melbourne last year. He was ahead of Boya following F3’s trip to Austria, but after two disappointing races at Spa-Francorchamps and Budapest, he has fallen behind him in the standings.
Noah Strømsted and rookie Théophile Nael are still mathematically in contention, but there would have to be a miracle involving all of the above drivers.
Returners comparison to the 2024 season
- Mari Boya – 2nd (15th)
- Nikola Tsolov – 3rd (11th)
- Tim Tramnitz – 4th (9th)
- Martinius Stenshorne – 5th (18th)
- Noah Strømsted – 6th (32nd) completed one race last season at Monza.
- Tuukka Taponen – 8th (31st) completed one race last season at Spa-Francorchamps.
- Charlie Wurz – 10th (22nd)
- Laurens van Hoepen – 11th (13th)
- Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak – 13th (24th)
- Callum Voisin – 14th (12th)
- Santiago Ramos – 15th (16th)
- James Wharton – 17th (33rd) completed one race last season at Silverstone.
- Noel León – 18th (10th)
- Nikita Bedrin – 20th (19th) completed one race this season at Melbourne and joined Formula E’s DS Penske at the start of the year.
- James Hedley – 26th (34th) completed one race last season at Monaco.
- Matías Zagazeta – 27th (26th)
- Joshua Dufek – 30th (28th) replaced mid-season by Hitech TGR.
Breakthrough Rookies
It cannot be overstated that Rafael Câmara has had a spectacular rookie season since joining Trident. He has completely dominated the championship ahead of seasoned competitors on an international stage in single-seater racing.
He won the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship for Prema Racing the year before, winning eight times, beating fellow F3 compatriots Wharton, Taponen and Giusti to the title.
Despite only competing once last year in Formula 3, Noah Strømsted and Tuukka Taponen have asserted themselves amongst a competitive field.
Strømsted achieved two feature race podiums, while clinching a maiden F3 sprint race win at Spa. Taponen twice stood on the sprint race podium and additionally fought his way to a third-place feature race finish in Hungary.
On his Formula 3 debut this year in Melbourne, Théophile Nael finished third behind fellow rookies Câmara and Strømsted. He previously met the latter in the 2023 Spanish Formula 4 series, beating the Dane by a considerable distance.
Ugo Ugochukwu has shown a lot of promise since joining Prema Racing at the start of this season. A sprint race podium in the penultimate race of the season in Budapest must surely give the American confidence heading into the final race of the season.
The McLaren Development Driver was promoted to F3 following impressive results since he joined single-seater racing in 2022. Race wins across Formula Regional, Italian Formula 4 and British Formula 4 show signs of things to come for the 18-year-old.
Season finale in Monza
Formula 3 will travel to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the final race of the season.
Typically, it was here where previous champions were decided, but Câmara’s title claim in Budapest means it’s a race for second place. Several drivers are in contention, but it is expected to be between Spaniard Mari Boya and Bulgarian Nikola Tsolov.
Some rookies have impressed, while other returners will be disappointed with their results this season. Callum Voisin and Noel León in particular would have hoped for better luck, but Monza could provide an opportunity to showcase their talent one final time in F3 this year.
Follow the action in Monza from the 5th to the 7th of September.
Feature Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Ltd