Martinius Stenshorne delivered a commanding performance to win the F3 Sprint Race in Monaco, leading from Turn 1 to the chequered flag in a dramatic outing around the Principality. The Norwegian driver made the most of a strong getaway from second on the grid, taking the lead from pole-sitter Alessandro Giusti before the opening corner and never relinquishing control of the race.
The grid was set in Monaco
The reverse grid, determined by Friday’s qualifying session, saw MP Motorsport’s Giusti start from pole, but his sluggish launch allowed ART Grand Prix’s front-row starter Stenshorne to pounce. Giusti dropped to fourth as ART teammates Tuukka Taponen and Laurens van Hoepen surged ahead, forming a tight trio in the early stages.
Chaos erupted almost immediately. At Turn 8, a collision involving James Hedley, Ivan Domingues, Nicola Lacorte, and Santiago Ramos brought out the Safety Car, as all four retired from the race. In a separate incident, PREMA’s Noel León also bowed out following contact with Rafael Câmara. The championship leader had already been demoted to eighth on the grid after receiving a post-qualifying penalty for failing to respect red flag delta times.
The F3 race resumed on Lap 7, with Stenshorne maintaining the lead in Monaco under pressure from Taponen. While the Hitech TGR driver initially pulled a one-second gap, Taponen responded, closing the deficit to just six-tenths by Lap 13. Behind them, van Hoepen remained in close contention, while Giusti attempted to recover lost ground.
Further drama unfolded on Lap 14 when TRIDENT’s Noah Strømsted sustained a puncture after clashing with Brad Benavides while trying to overtake Joshua Dufek. The contact also damaged Benavides’ front wing and forced Strømsted to retire after crawling back to the pits.
Despite the tight gaps at the front, overtaking remained scarce around Monaco’s tight confines. However, Gerrard Xie provided a rare highlight by diving down the inside of Nicola Marinangeli at Sainte Dévote, showcasing precision and bravery in equal measure.
The final phase
As the race entered its final phase, Stenshorne reasserted control, stretching his lead back out to 1.3 seconds on Lap 17. Meanwhile, van Hoepen closed in on his teammate in a late push for second, but Taponen held firm.
Further down the field, Benavides made a clean move on Ugo Ugochukwu for 12th, while the Rodin Motorsport trio of Callum Voisin, Louis Sharp, and Roman Bilinski engaged in a tense intra-team scrap. Voisin tapped Mari Boya at the Nouvelle Chicane, allowing Sharp to snatch ninth, though Boya recovered well to cling onto eighth.
At the front, Stenshorne cruised across the line to seal his second career F3 Sprint Race victory, finishing 2.2 seconds clear of Taponen. Van Hoepen rounded out the podium in third, marking his first top-three finish since this very event last year.
Giusti ultimately settled for fourth, followed closely by teammate Tim Tramnitz in fifth. Charlie Wurz fended off a late challenge from Câmara to take sixth, with the Brazilian classified seventh. Boya, Sharp, and Voisin completed the top ten, all securing valuable points in what proved to be a classic Monaco street fight.
F3 Monaco GP Sprint Race 2025 full results
- Stenshorne
- Tapponen
- Van Hoepen
- Giusti
- Tramnitz
- Wurz
- Câmara
- Boya
- Sharp
- Voisin
- Bilinski
- Benavides
- Ugochukwu
- Dufek
- Ho
- Naël
- Zagazeta
- Inthraphuvasak
- Xie
- Marinangeli
- Badoer
- Wharton
- Del Pino
- Tsolov
- Strømsted
- Leon
- Lacorte
- Ramos
- Hedley
- Domingues
