The Formula 3 weekend at the Red Bull Ring delivered two entertaining races, with drama both on and off the track. Feeder Series brings you the main takeaways from round six of the 2025 season.

By Daniele Spadi

The Styrian racetrack is a staple of the F3 calendar, being one of the four circuits to have been on the schedule every year since the series’ rebranding in 2019, and it delivered thrilling action once again. Nikola Tsolov topped both practice and qualifying on Friday to give himself a boost in his bid to rein in points leader Rafael Câmara. In the sprint race, James Wharton became the seventh different winner of the season, clinching the first victory of the season for ART Grand Prix ahead of Alessandro Giusti and Tsolov.

The Bulgarian started from pole on Sunday and led the feature race from start to finish, but he was disqualified after the race as the thickness of the front plank on his car was not within the limits prescribed in the technical regulations. Martinius Stenshorne therefore took his second win of the season – his maiden feature race success – with Tim Tramnitz and Mari Boya rounding out the podium.

Pre-weekend roundtable: The keys to success for F3 drivers switching teams

Qualifying report and quotes: Red Bull junior Tsolov takes second F3 pole in Austria as Benavides stars

Sprint race report and quotes: ART’s Wharton fends off Giusti for first F3 victory in Austria

Feature race report and quotes: Stenshorne inherits Austria F3 feature victory after Tsolov disqualified

1. A pivotal moment in the drivers’ title fight

Fresh off three consecutive top-five finishes, Nikola Tsolov came to the Red Bull Ring with high hopes. Last year’s sprint winner around the Styrian circuit made his move early on, taking a second pole of the season and the two additional points that came with it on Friday.

On Saturday, the Campos Racing driver had yet another strong showing, clinching a fifth podium of the season after starting 12th. In the feature race, he executed everything flawlessly just as he did in Monaco, where he had turned his maiden pole in the series into a first feature race win of 2025. Thanks to his dominant performance on track, Tsolov moved within one point of championship leader Rafael Câmara.

Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, disaster struck after the podium celebrations. He was found to be in breach of the technical regulations as the front plank on his car was deemed to have been 0.3 mm below the minimum thickness level.

Tsolov was therefore disqualified from the feature race, dropping to third in the drivers’ standings, 28 points behind Câmara. It was a disastrous outcome despite a phenomenal performance, and he now has even more ground to make up next weekend in Silverstone.

2. McLaren juniors star…

After a phenomenal FRegional Europe campaign in 2023, Martinius Stenshorne entered the 2024 F3 season as one of the dark horses for the drivers’ title. A few moments of brilliance showcased his talent in his rookie campaign, but he ultimately lacked the consistency needed to thrive in such a competitive series.

A McLaren Driver Development Programme member since last season’s Imola F3 round, Stenshorne seems to have developed into a tidier version of his previous self in 2025. That was most evident in Spielberg, where he turned a disappointing qualifying session into his best weekend to date, demonstrating excellent awareness and racecraft.

Having started 15th for both races, Stenshorne took seventh in the sprint – along with the fastest lap – before delivering a scintillating comeback on Sunday. He was already up to seventh after six laps, and he spent the next 13 laps clawing his way through to second. The Hitech driver finished 6.646 seconds behind Tsolov before inheriting his maiden feature race win following the Red Bull junior’ disqualification.

In his rookie F3 season, fellow McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu has struggled to find his footing. In the first 10 races, he had only collected two points finishes to score four of Prema Racing’s eight points.

In hopes of reducing weight on his car, the grid’s tallest driver turned up to the Red Bull Ring having swapped his bright papaya livery with a stripped-down carbon fibre one adorned with few other logos besides McLaren’s. Despite a spin at Turn 10 that cost him a shot at the top three in qualifying, he still managed to take home eighth on Friday.

In Ugochukwu’s case, black proved the new and improved orange. In the sprint, he converted a top-five start into his maiden podium of the season – before he received a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 1 while fighting against Tsolov, dropping him from third to 16th. On Sunday, however, he was one of the quickest drivers, pulling off some fine overtakes, including one at Turn 6 on Câmara on the penultimate lap. He ultimately finished fourth, the best result for both himself and Prema this season.

3. …while Ferrari’s underwhelm

On the other hand, it wasn’t the smoothest weekend for championship leader Câmara, Ferrari’s leading junior driver in F3. The Brazilian qualified only seventh, never looking quick enough to challenge for a record-breaking fifth pole of the season.

In a thrilling sprint, the Trident driver made two costly errors that cost him a combined five places. He dipped a wheel into the gravel on lap 10 while alongside Tsolov and lost two places, then dropped another three – including one to Tramnitz – by running wide at Turn 3 on the penultimate lap while battling Stenshorne.

On Sunday, the 20-year-old rookie seemed to be comfortable with the car once again, fighting his way up to second by lap seven.

But with 10 laps to go, Câmara started struggling with pace, ast happened in Imola earlier this season. Stenshorne passed him on lap 19, with Tim Tramnitz, Mari Boya and Ugochukwu following suit in the final three laps. Câmara eventually finished fifth after Tsolov’s disqualification.

While Câmara still took home some important points despite being slower than usual, the same can’t be said for fellow Ferrari junior Tuukka Taponen. Following a tough weekend in Barcelona, the Finn spent five days of his break at home in Finland in hopes of resetting before the next pair of back-to-back weekends. Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he failed to score points for the second race weekend in a row.

Taponen only managed 20th in qualifying, starting round six on the back foot, and luck wasn’t on his side either. He was forced to retire on the second lap of the sprint after being hit by DAMS’ Christian Ho. In the feature, while other drivers staged masterful comebacks, Taponen was unable to do so, ultimately finishing one place below where he started in 20th.

4. The Red Bull Ring shines once more

Since F3 adopted its current identity in 2019, the Red Bull Ring has proven one of the most suitable tracks for F3 racing. With plenty of overtaking opportunities in the first half of the lap and a fast, flowing second half, the 10-turn Styrian circuit offers great racing and opportunities for those who qualify poorly to recover.

Both F3 races this weekend around the 4.326-kilometre racetrack provided thrilling on-track battles. Drivers frequently fought side by side without having to worry about tyre degradation or the aero wash while trailing.

The new car provided by Dallara this year seemed to enable drivers to follow their rivals more closely in sectors two and three. This helped several drivers to complete impressive comebacks, especially on Sunday. Stenshorne won from 15th on the grid, while Tramnitz and Boya rounded out the podium after starting 17th and 14th respectively. Having drivers on the podium from so far back is rare in F3, especially in races without safety car interventions or adverse weather conditions.

Results and standings after round 6 at Spielberg

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying	Nikola Tsolov, 1:20.743	Brad Benavides, +0.176s	Noah Strømsted, +0.178s
Sprint race (21 laps)	James Wharton, 33:49.853	Alessandro Giusti, +0.612s	Nikola Tsolov, +1.564s
Feature race (26 laps)	Martinius Stenshorne, 36:46.954	Tim Tramnitz, +2.075s	Mari Boya, +2.458s

Standings	Drivers	Teams
P1	Rafael Câmara, 117	Trident, 202
P2	Tim Tramnitz, 93	Campos Racing, 169
P3	Nikola Tsolov, 89	MP Motorsport, 158
P4	Martinius Stenshorne, 67	Van Amersfoort Racing, 107
P5	Noah Strømsted, 62	ART Grand Prix, 100
P6	Mari Boya, 58	Rodin Motorsport, 97
P7	Alessandro Giusti, 54	Hitech, 67
P8	Tuukka Taponen, 51	AIX Racing, 29
P9	Callum Voisin, 48	Prema Racing, 21
P10	Santiago Ramos, 45	DAMS, 10

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency