Rafael Câmara rose to the occasion to claim pole position in qualifying at the F3 Hungarian GP, besting Boya by eight thousandths.
Having gone fastest in Free Practice and being one of our ones to watch ahead of this weekend, Câmara shone to take pole at the last in Hungary. The Brazillian’s lap puts him in prime position to claim the Drivers’ Championship with just Hungary and Italy to go. Câmara can claim the title on Sunday, but requires a 40-point gap to any rivals.
Fortunately for Câmara, rivals Tramnitz and Tsolov could only manage P17 and P21.
Green light
30 minutes of qualifying at the F3 Hungarian GP began as the field dove towards pit exit as the green light turned on. The flock of cars exiting the pits caused an issue for some, including Matias Zagazeta who was immediately noted for an unsafe release – with the incident to be investigated after the session.
F3 qualifying sessions can always be hectic around the Hungaroring, and Campos Racing chose to avoid this by being the only team to keep their cars in the pits at the start of the session.
The first flying laps came in just over six minutes into the session, and Noah Strømsted took provisional pole with a 1:33.35, while a host of drivers including Laurens van Hoepen and Ugo Ugochukwu placed themselves within a tenth of the leader. Rafael Câmara had joined the drivers in the top 5, but had his lap time deleted and subsequently complained about understeer issues.
Campos released their drivers around the 20-minute mark, as Mari Boya, Nikola Tsolov, and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak entered a clear track. Mari Boya took pole from Strømsted with an excellent 1:33.013, while Inthraphuvasak went P2 with a 1:33.351 and Tsolov P4 with a 1:33.386.
The mid-way point of the session
While the Campos cars launched themselves to the top with electric laps, the rest of the field emerged from the pits to start their second runs. Predictably, the last sector was tight as cars made their way around the final corners in a large group.
As the track developed, so did the times. Boya’s lap was beaten by multiple drivers, as Charlie Wurz went P1 with a 1:32.737, and Ugochukwu followed him with a 1:32.738. Câmara, who struggled with traffic at the start of the lap, posted a 1:32.84 good enough for P5.
At the other end of the field, Nicola Marinangeli struggled significantly through the first two runs. The AIX driver sat outside of the 107% time by 30 seconds.
Following the main group, the Campos trio completed their second runs. Boya went P1 with a 1:32.65, while his teammates could only manage P8 and P15. Tsolov’s P15 is a concern for Campos. The Bulgarian needs to finish far ahead of Câmara to stand a chance in the Drivers’ Championship.
The final runs
The majority of the field headed out for their final runs of the session. At this stage, all eyes were on Câmara to see if he could string together one uninterrupted lap as he hunts down the Drivers’ Championship. However, Câmara ended up being forced through the pit lane due to the congestion.
Gerrard Xie’s 1:32.66 saw him make contention for the first time this session, one hundreth behind Boya. Tuukka Taponen’s lap saw him take provisional pole from Boya, with a 1:32.65 – one thousandth ahead of Boya.
Marinangeli’s final flying lap saw him place P30, but well inside the 107% time. Surprisingly, Tim Tramnitz was only able to complete a 1:32.93 for P17. The place leaves the MP Motorsport man all-but-out of the Drivers’ Championship battle. As most drivers completed their final laps, it left the Campos drivers and Câmara with laps to complete.
Câmara mustered an incredible lap, despite the difficulties of his session, to go pole with a 1:32.51. All eyes were on Boya closely following him, but he placed P2 with a 1:32.518 – just behind Câmara.
Câmara’s pole position is his fifth of the season and first since Barcelona, putting him in prime position to potentially win the Drivers’ Championship one race early.
F3 Hungarian GP Qualifying Results
- Câmara
- Boya
- Taponen
- Xie
- Naël
- Wurz
- Ugochukwu
- Badoer
- Giusti
- Wharton
- Hedley
- Inthraphuvasak
- León
- Strømsted
- Ramos
- Benavides
- Tramnitz
- Bilinski
- van Hoepen
- Stenshorne
- Tsolov
- Domingues
- Voisin
- Ho
- Zagazeta
- Lacorte
- Del Pino
- Sharp
- Johnson
- Marinangeli
