The 2025 Formula 3 season commenced with a dramatic turn of events as Trident’s ace driver, Rafael Camara, triumphed against all odds in the opening Feature Race. The torrential downpour, which eventually led to an early conclusion of the race, failed to dampen the spirits of this skilled driver.
The race experienced an abrupt halt on the 18th lap owing to continuous laps under the Safety Car, thanks to the relentless rain. The stewards finally decided against resuming the race due to the challenging weather conditions. This decision saw Camara returning to the pits, securing his maiden victory in F3, with his teammate, Noah Stromsted, finishing a close second, thereby ensuring a one-two finish for the Trident team. The third place on the podium was clinched by Theophile Nael from Van Amersfoort Racing.
The season had an intense start with VAR’s Santiago Ramos claiming the first win in a Sprint Race fraught with incidents, leading to the Safety Car being deployed twice. Prior to the Feature Race, James Wharton was penalized with a five-place grid penalty due to a 10-second time penalty for instigating a collision in the Sprint. The penalty was converted to a grid drop as Wharton failed to finish the race.
The pole position was secured by Camara, owing to his impressive performance during Friday’s qualifying session. As the race started, the drivers were met with an unusual downpour drenching the Melbourne streets. The stewards, in anticipation of the challenging conditions, declared that the formation lap would begin behind the Safety Car, and all drivers were instructed to commence the race on wet-weather tyres.
Camara made an extraordinary start, gaining a significant lead over his teammate and the rest of the 30 drivers who were struggling to navigate the rain-soaked track. Despite the top 10 positions remaining unchanged after Lap 1, the Safety Car had to be deployed again following a collision between Nikola Tsolov of Campos Racing and Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin, leaving both drivers stranded on the grass.
As the race resumed on Lap 5, Camara continued to dominate, leading the pack into Turn 1. Subsequently, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak of Campos tried to challenge Trident’s Charlie Wurz for the sixth place. By the 7th lap, Camara managed to establish a two-second lead over Stromsted. The 8th lap saw Hitech’s Martinius Stenshorne outmaneuver Prema Racing’s Ugochukwu to secure the eighth place.
Throughout the race, the continuous downpour made it increasingly difficult for the drivers to stay on track. Rodin’s Roman Bilinski managed to overtake Ugo Ugochukwu, moving up to the ninth place on Lap 9. Two laps later, a 10-second time penalty was imposed on Matias Zagazeta for colliding with Alessandro Giusti of MP Motorsport.
The Safety Car was called into action once again following an accident on Lap 14 involving DAMS’ Christian Ho, who lost control of his car and crashed into the wall. The heavy rain that followed led to the race being red-flagged on Lap 18 due to the excessive standing water on the track. The stewards then declared that the race would not be resumed, thus confirming Camara’s victory.
Despite the premature end, the race was deemed complete as the required laps had been covered, thereby ensuring full points for the drivers. Following Camara and Stromsted, Nikita Bedrin finished fourth, Tim Tramnitz fifth, and Wurz sixth. Inthraphuvasak, Stenshorne, Bilinski, and Ugochukwu secured the seventh to tenth positions, respectively.
This dramatic start to the 2025 Formula 3 season with Camara’s victory in challenging weather conditions is sure to set the pace for the exciting races to follow.
