Brad Benavides took a second Formula 3 pole position during a split qualifying session in Monza on Friday, finishing ahead of group A pacesetter Ugo Ugochukwu and Noel León. Feeder Series spoke to the AIX Racing driver after the session to find out his approach for maintaining his position in the feature race.

By Tori Turner

The qualifying session featured an altered format, with the 30 drivers divided into two groups by the numbers on their cars. A similar system was used earlier this season in Monaco, where Tsolov achieved his maiden pole position, as well as in Monza last season.

The 13-minute halves that were used at Monza in 2024 were reduced to just 10 minutes, giving the drivers few opportunities to set their fast laps. Most opted for just one run without coming into the pit lane.

Group A, which contained champion Rafael Câmara, took to the track first. Whilst the majority of the 15 drivers opted to remain in the pit lane waiting, James Hedley, Roman Bilinski and Nikita Johnson headed out early..

The remaining 12 drivers eventually joined the circuit in search of the optimal track position for their flying laps. Slipstreams are crucial at Monza, affording drivers an extra burst of top speed around Monza’s long straights. This waiting period ensured that, at least in group A, most drivers would only have one lap to set their fastest time.

Callum Voisin and Tim Tramnitz were the first drivers to start their flying laps with two minutes to go, giving them the potential advantage of having two chances to improve their times. The German driver gained a tow from Voisin, who briefly touched the gravel at Lesmo.

After the first laps were completed, Câmara rocketed to the top of the timing tower with a 1:38.520 lap, with Ugochukwu 0.093s behind in second and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak 0.106s behind in third. Bilinski and Alessandro Giusti rounded out the provisional top five as Tramnitz, Voisin and Giusti all had another shot at a flying lap.

Câmara’s provisional pole position lap was then deleted because he exceeded track limits at the exit of the Roggia chicane following a snap of oversteer. He therefore dropped to the bottom of the order and could not set another lap. With both Giusti and Tramnitz failing to improve on their previous laps and Voisin rising only to 10th from last, Ugochukwu inherited the top spot in the group ahead of Inthraphuvasak and Bilinski. 

“It was a bit of a tricky quali session,” Ugochukwu said. “We were waiting in the pitlane for a long time and I was starting to get a bit worried. It was basically a one-lap shootout at the end, so a very high-pressure moment because there was no room for mistakes. Track limits or traffic or something could really ruin your quali, so [I’m] really happy to just get a clean lap in.”

Group B began their session shortly after, and this time, all fifteen drivers headed out onto the circuit straight away for outlaps before diving back into the pits. 

Gerrard Xie was the first Group B driver to get a lap in with a 1:52.028. Martinius Stenshorne also went out early but opted for a second build lap instead.

With four minutes left on the clock, drivers finally began their flying laps, with Tsolov leading the field. Noah Strømsted was the fastest driver of the first runs with a 1:38.647, putting him in a crucial provisional first position for Trident in the fight for the teams’ championship. Tsolov also had his lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 7 but had another lap left.

Campos teammate Mari Boya’s sidepod cover came loose shortly before he finished his lap, though he was able to set a 1:38.638, helped by a tow from Louis Sharp. He failed to improve on his second run.

In the final runs, Noel León, Nikola Tsolov and Matías Zagazeta all improved to occupy the top three positions – before Brad Benavides leapt up the order to snatch first place. The American driver set a 1:38.120, 0.262s faster than León and 0.493s faster than Ugochukwu, to earn his second F3 pole position. 

The past three F3 polesitters in Monza have been unable to convert their pole positions into feature race wins. Does that worry Benavides, who has never stood on an F3 podium?

“Come Sunday, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when it comes,” Benavides told Feeder Series. “It would obviously be nice to break that kind of record, but then again I never really regard much of those kind of things. I have unshakeable faith in what I’m doing and I just always do my best. If that is converted into a win, I would be beyond grateful and blessed.”

Because Benavides’ best time was faster than Ugochukwu’s, group B drivers will inherit the outside positions on the grid. Ugochukwu, the fastest driver in group A, will therefore start the feature race on Sunday in second, with León in third. 

Prema struggled to score points throughout the early stages of the season and sat 10th and last in the standings as recently as Barcelona, but they have managed three podiums in the past three rounds to move up to eighth.

“Our good form has probably been better and better each round,” Ugochukwu said to Feeder Series. “I feel like we’ve been in the fight for pole the last few. I missed out a little bit here again, but I think it’s still a really positive result. P2 and P3 for the feature race is really good. Around Monza as well, I’m sure they’re even happier, and hopefully we can convert it [to] a home race win.”

“The team has been working really hard to put us in this position, to put us fighting for poles,” León added. “Ugo has always been quite strong, and he’s been fighting for more poles than me. It’s all thanks to the work that the team has been doing and it’s incredible to be P2, P3 here in Monza in this home race.”

Inthraphuvasak and Tsolov will line up in fourth and fifth – critical positions for Campos as they pursue their first teams’ championship, especially with no Trident drivers in the top 10.

Bilinski rediscovered his early-season qualifying pace to finish sixth, with Zagazeta lining up seventh. Giusti and Taponen occupy eighth and ninth positions on the grid ahead of Tramnitz, who is in the fight for second in the drivers’ standings. Laurens van Hoepen will start from reverse-grid pole for Saturday’s sprint race alongside Martinius Stenshorne. 

Charlie Wurz was the highest-placed Trident in 15th overall, with Strømsted further back in 19th and Câmara last. Boya lines up 17th for both races, in the middle of the two Tridents.

Benavides and an AIX team representative was summoned to the stewards post-session for running a non-nominated rear plank on his car. AIX were fined €1,000, and they number of rear planks available to them was reduced to 11.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency