In a dominant drive, Rafael Câmara wins the Hungarian GP Feature Race and the 2025 Formula 3 Driver’s Championship.
The grid today is headed by Championship leader, Rafael Câmara, who landed his fifth pole position of the season. Alongside in P2 is Mari Boya of Campos Racing, followed by Tuukka Taponen and Gerrard Xie on the second row.
This Formula 3 Hungarian GP race will be crucial for Câmara, who can take the 2025 Championship here if he can complete the race with a 40-point lead over Tsolov in second. The gap currently stands at 31 points between the two drivers, so the odds are in Câmara’s favour.
It has been a difficult weekend for Tsolov, who would have hoped to challenge his Championship rival, but unfortunately, starts in P21 today. Mari Boya, who is fourth in the standings, might have a better chance at keeping the Championship out of his grasp.
Lights Out at the Formula 3 Hungarian GP Feature Race
As the formation lap began, it was evident that track conditions for the F3 Hungarian GP were quite wet. As a result, Race Control notified teams that it would be a rolling start.
Câmara kicked off the start fairly quickly, to his benefit, as he built a significant gap that would prove useful in maintaining position.
Just outside the top ten, we saw Inthrapuvasak and Stromsted battle to get into the top ten. Meanwhile, Tim Tramnitz spun round but made it back on track. But the incident would certainly hurt his ability to challenge for a chance at the title.
Elsewhere, Ugochukwu made up a place to get into 6th and immediately went to challenge Nael for 5th. With a send of the car to the outside, he took the place.
The top three remained intact, with Boya cutting down the gap to the race leader. If not for the track conditions, he would have had the opportunity to use the DRS. The gap to the lead had been cut down from over a second to half of that, very quickly, as Boya demonstrated exceptional race craft on a wet track to gain on the lead.
Soon after, a Yellow flag was out, and the Safety Car was deployed as Brad Benavides spun off into the barriers at turn 13 after a three-car challenge with Bilinski and Van Hoepen. Bilinski managed to resume the race, but Benavides was out of the race.
Safety Car Restart at the Formula 3 Hungarian GP Feature Race
As the safety car pulled in, Boya was right on Câmara’s heels and remained within four tenths. Simultaneously, a fierce battle between Wurz and Nael saw Wurz take the place.
But chaos ensued as there was contact between Ugochukwu and Xie. Ugochukwu attempted to go around the outside, but Xie, leaving not much room, ran into Ugochukwu, and both cars ran off. Another Safety Car was initiated as both cars were declared out of the race.
Xie will likely receive a grid penalty at the next Sprint Race due to the incident.
The Safety Car ended, and Câmara fought to hold off Boya, who was hot on his heels. Meanwhile, Wurz went off at the restart but managed to make it back. The restart was promising for Câmara, who had a 7-tenth lead over Boya. In the back, Tsolov was charging up the order with a move on Van Hoepen to get him into P11, just outside the points. Tsolov showed he was not making it easy for rival Camara.
The Half-Way Mark at Formula 3 Hungarian GP Feature Race
Contact between Leon and Hedley had Hedley spin off and fall to the back in an incident catalysed by a bunched-up midfield. Elsewhere, Tsolov had ticked off yet another place to make it into the points. DRS was then enabled, and the challenge for the title would certainly intensify.
Just outside the points, Sharp sent the car around the outside of Stromsted to take twelfth and advance his mission to make it into the points. Stromsted attempted to challenge once more for his position, but Sharp was not making it easy, leaving little room for the driver.
Ahead of the pack, Camara was quickly building a 1.7-second lead. This would be essential with DRS being activated. But close behind, Tsolov has battled his way into P6 and would be a problem for Câmara if he maintained his pace.
His best chance at disrupting Câmara’s Championship win would be if he could make it up to 4th, and Boya took the lead. But if Câmara wins, with no penalties, there would be nothing in his way of claiming that title. Boya was closing the gap to the leader, however, and was in and out of DRS range.
10 minutes on the clock
The first car to pit was Martinius Stenshorne of HiTech GTR. The other teams would certainly be looking at his data and assessing their own pit strategies.
Tsolov now had the DRS on Nael in P5. The move would be crucial, as if unable to take the position, it would put him behind Boya in the Championship. Regardless, it would be a monumental drive for the Campos driver, who had made it into P6 from P21.
With 30 seconds remaining, Câmara stood strong at the front with a 2.6-second gap to Boya. He drove dominant last lap, taking the fastest lap before, coming over the line to take the 2025 Formula 3 Championship. It is a glorious day for Rafael Câmara, who takes the victory as a rookie this season and Trident who take their third consecutive title.
