A Runaway Champion: F3 Hungary Friday Recap
- therookiereporters
- Aug 2
- 2 min read
The first day of track action for the Formula 3 field kicks off, as the drivers set to practice and perfect their laps around the Hungaroring.
Championship leader Camara started the day strong, topping practice with a 1:33.888. He leads AIX Driver Brad Benavides, who was meant to start last weekend's Feature Race on Pole position, but, unfortunately, the weather in Spa had other ideas. Brad's time of 1:33.952 put him just 0.064 behind Camara, with Rodin’s Bilinski in third, just 0.265 off top spot.
Other Championship contenders, such as Nikola Tsolov, were down in sixth place, almost half a second off the pace, in what is such a crucial weekend for the title fight. Tim Tramnitz, who is currently in third in the standings, finished the session in twelfth position, 0.731 off the pace of Camara.
The session ended prematurely after Nikola Tsolov had a moment at turn 12, triggering a red flag which cut practice short with just 3 minutes to go, preventing many of the drivers from having a final run in preparation for qualifying later this afternoon.
Your Aramco Pole Position goes to Rafael Camara, who will start Sunday’s Feature Race in the best seat in the house, with qualifying playing a vital role on a track where there are limited overtaking opportunities. Camara is set to lead the field for the 24-lap race.
With a 1:32:510, Camara bested Campos’ driver Mari Boya by less than a 100th of a second. Boya had been the one to set the pace throughout the session, as Camara had a tricky time with traffic and small mistakes that didn't allow him to get a clean lap until the very last moment.
Prema driver Brando Badoer had his best qualifying of the season, finishing in eighth, just one place behind his McLaren and Prema teammate Ugo Ugochukwu, who set a 1:34.558.
The starting row for Saturday's 19-lap sprint race will be AIX’s driver James Hedley and Campos’ Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, who will be on pole. His teammate Tsolov had a disappointing final lap, leaving him down in 21st position, meaning he will have a very difficult race ahead of him if he wants to stay in the title fight.
Article written by Ellie Swain ©2025
