Formula 3 comes to Silverstone for round seven of the 2025 season, and rain is on the horizon both Saturday and Sunday. Feeder Series and other selected media spoke to the drivers about how they navigate wet-weather racing.

By Daniele Spadi

Rain already affected the opening round of the 2025 F3 season at Melbourne, where treacherous conditions characterised the feature race. Championship leader Rafael Câmara of Trident took his maiden F3 win in that event after the race was red-flagged with three laps to go, but that remains the sole race weekend session so far in which this year’s grid had the chance to practice wet-weather driving.

In recent years, the adverse British weather has significantly shaped F3 races around the 5.891-kilometre track, the second longest in F3. Just last season, the start of the sprint race was delayed by almost 11 hours because of intense rainfall in the morning. The following day, mixed conditions animated the feature race too.

Even in 2023, a heavy rain spell turned the sprint race on its head partway through, with showers hitting the track during the feature as well.

While practice and qualifying for this year’s Silverstone weekend are expected to unfold in dry conditions, Met Office forecasts as of midday Friday place the chance of rain during both Saturday’s sprint race and Sunday’s feature race at 50 percent.

Given the uncertainty regarding the conditions, drivers and teams have to be ready for anything as they enter round seven of 10.

“It’s always exciting to race in the wet. It’s a bit more tricky,” Câmara told Feeder Series. “You always prepare for both cases, so whatever happens, I think as a team, we’re ready to do a good job.”

Not all drivers, however, have a demonstrated track record when it comes to wet-weather racing. The series’ most recent race winner, Martinius Stenshorne, did not score points in either of the two wet F3 races he entered in 2024, and he also finished off the podium in each of the wet FR Europe races in the 2023 season, which he ended as runner-up. Stenshorne was suspended from the rain-hit Silverstone F3 round last year after partaking in a GB3 round at the circuit earlier that season without being authorised to do so by the FIA.

“Driving in the rain brings some new challenges to the track,” Stenshorne said. “We’re prepared for everything. You need to be prepared for every kind of weather, so we’re ready for that. Hopefully we can have a good one in both conditions if that appears.”

Such tricky conditions could become even more daunting for the drivers who have never raced at Silverstone prior to this weekend. That’s the case for Théophile Naël, who, alongside most of the 2025 rookie class, is set to compete at the 5.891-kilometre British circuit for the first time in his career.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman has excelled in wet weather throughout his career, as he finished third in the feature race at Melbourne in just his second F3 start. Two of Naël’s finest displays in the 2024 FRegional Europe season came during the final round of the season at Monza, where he masterfully handled a wet track to capture fourth in race one before taking pole for race two in a similarly damp qualifying session.

“It’s a bit more difficult to drive in the rain,” he told Feeder Series. “I never drove here in the past, so I cannot say much, but I think it’s a typical track where when it’s raining, it’s going to be tough, changing lines. I really enjoy driving in the wet, so I’m looking forward [to it].”

F2 is also racing this weekend, though its sessions are held later in the day. Rain is thus less likely to hit the sprint race on Saturday, though it remains a consideration for the feature race on Sunday.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency