Formula 3: Câmara takes third F3 victory, furthering his lead in the championship

Written By Trisha Lynnette

Credit: Formula 3 via X

Formula 3 feature race, that went underway on Sunday, saw Rafael Câmara of Trident take his third win at Barcelona. Having qualified at pole position on Friday, the driver has furthered his lead in the championship. He currently holds 105 points having won points in almost every feature race on the calendar. Théophile Naël of Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) took P2 followed by Alessandro Giusti of MP Motorsport take P3.

On Saturday, fans of the sport saw a chaotic race as multiple drivers collided in the opening lap, causing their retirement from the race. Roman Bilinski of Rodin Motorsport led the grid but crashed with Martinius Stenshorne of Hitech TGR which led to the eventual victory for VAR's Ivan Domingues. The joy for the Dutch team didn’t end there as it was a 1-2 podium with Santiago Ramos taking P2. 

Câmara had a bad start to the sprint as he retired in the opening lap, causing him to fall behind on points. That meant that the Brazilian driver would have to buckle up and secure P1 in the Feature Race to cover up the lost points. He did exactly that in the Feature Race, securing his lead in the championship.

It was a sunny day in Barcelona. The drivers exited the pits, ready to start their feature race at 08:30 CEST (06:30 GMT). Câmara led the grid followed by Nikola Tsolov of Campos Racing and Laurens Van Hoepen of ART Grand Prix. The drivers began their formation lap, warming up their tyres to the perfect temperature. 

The lights went off and the race went underway. Câmara had a strong start off the line, while Tsolov experienced car issues and dropped down the order. This helped Van Hoepen and Théophile Naël of VAR secure P2 and P3 at the time. 

In the meantime, Ramos who had brought a good result for the team on Saturday had to retire as he faced issues with the car. Nicola Marinangelli of AIX Racing faced a 10s penalty due to his infringement during the starting grid procedure.

Bilinski and Jose Garfias of AIX Racing collided which resulted in an early safety car. The drivers slowed down as the yellow flag was waved and followed suit behind the safety car, weaving to maintain their tyre temperatures.

Once the cars were removed from the track, the drivers began racing again in Lap 8. A few overtakes occurred such as Stenshorne passed Taponen, reaching P4. Taponen faced difficulties with his car as he slowed down and fell through the back of the grid. 

Stenshorne's position was soon snatched by Alessandro Giusti of MP Motorsport as he passed the driver down the main straight. An incident between Tim Tramnitz of MP Motorsport and Noah Strømsted of Trident was noted by the stewards. Tsolov had managed to move to P7, passing the recent Sprint winner, Domingues.

Mari Boya of Campos Racing received a ten second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage. Marinangelli entered the pits to serve his penalty causing him to drop down the grid.

Credit: Formula 3 via X

By lap 14, the top three had managed to break away from the rest of the grid, Van Hoepen and Naël were in the DRS range. Tsolov had managed to enter the top 5. It was lap 18 when Nicola Lacorte of DAMS Racing and Brando Badoer of PREMA Racing had a collision. This resulted in the safety car being deployed once again. 

After a few laps, the green flag was waved and the drivers were back to racing. Van Hoepen and Naël battled it out for P2, Naël being able to overtake Van Hoepen. The ART Grand Prix driver faced more problems, also being overtaken by Giusti and losing out on the podium finish. Câmara used this battle to his advantage and drove out of the DRS range. The final lap went underway, the Brazilian driver crossed the line and claimed his third win for Trident. 

Naël took P3 for VAR, the team having enjoyed a brilliant race weekend, followed by Giusti who claimed his maiden F3 pole. Van Hoepen unfortunately took P4 followed by his former teammate - Tsolov. ART Grand Prix’s James Wharton received a penalty due to track limits. 

Credit: Formula 3 via X

“P1 - very happy with the result. Slightly different than Imola, this time we were thinking more about the tyres, so it was a good race. In the end I was able to push a bit more and go for the fastest lap, which could be important points for the Championship. So very happy,” said Championship leader Câmara.

Trident currently leads the Constructors Championship with 176 points, followed by Campos Racing at P2 with 130 points. MP Motorsport follows closely behind with 126 points. As for the dutch team VAR, who had brilliant results this weekend, they currently sit at fourth with 106 points.

This brings an end to the European triple header of the season. With just three race weekends left on the calendar, each driver must work hard and prepare well to win for their teams. Formula 3 will have a small pause before we begin racing at the legendary Red Bull Ring in Spielberg from June 27th onwards. 

Make sure to catch the next race weekend live. If not, head back to DIVEBOMB for all the action you might have missed.

Full Feature Race Classification

P1	Rafael Câmara	TRIDENT
P2	Théophile Naël	Van Amersfoort Racing
P3	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport
P4	Laurens Van Hoepen	ART Grand Prix
P5	Nikola Tsolov	Campos Racing
P6	Ivan Domingues	Van Amersfoort Racing
P7	Tim Tramnitz	MP Motorsport
P8	Noah Strømsted	TRIDENT
P9	Martinius Stenshorne	Hitech TGR
P10	Callum Voisin	Rodin Motorsport
P11	Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak	Campos Racing
P12	Louis Sharp	Rodin Motorsport
P13	Charlie Wurz	TRIDENT
P14	Christian Ho	DAMS Lucas Oil
P15	Matías Zagazeta	DAMS Lucas Oil
P16	James Wharton	ART Grand Prix
P17	Bruno Del Pino	MP Motorsport
P18	Noel Léon	PREMA Racing
P19	Tuukka Taponen	ART Grand Prix
P20	Ugo Ugochukwu	PREMA Racing
P21	Gerrard Xie	Hitech TGR
P22	Jesse Carrasquedo	Hitech TGR
P23	Mari Boya	Campos Racing
P24	Nicola Marinangeli	AIX Racing
P25	Brad Benavides	AIX Racing
P26	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS Lucas OIl
DNF	Brando Badoer	PREMA Racing
DNF	Roman Bilinski	Rodin Motorsport
DNF	Jose Garfias	AIX Racing
DNF	Santiago Ramos	Van Amersfoort Racing