It’s time for the F3 Sprint Race in Imola, for the 3rd round of the 2025 championship. With many drivers promoted this year, a portion of the grid have not raced for this category in Imola. F3 has seen 11 different drivers finish on the podium in the first two rounds of 2025. There will be no surprise if Del Pino becomes the 12th.
Formula 3 began racing at Imola in 2022, and has since seen winners, from the likes of Franco Colapinto, and Roman Stanek. The 4.909km circuit proves tricky for drivers at every level, and is certain to put on a show for fans.
During Friday’s qualifying session, we saw Camara take pole with a 1.32.206. Although today’s F3 Sprint Race in Imola, is a reverse grid start, putting Del Pino, and his MP Motorsport on pole, after qualifying 12th with a 1.32.780. Alongside him will be his teammate, Tramnitz.
The green flag is waved, lights are out
As the cars lined up for the start of the formation lap, Strømsted already found himself under investigation for a suspected practice start infringement.
The F3 Sprint Race in Imola roared to life. Del Pino led into Turn 1, with Tramnitz slotting in just behind. Tramnitz challenged immediately into the first corner, but Del Pino held firm.
Behind them, chaos unfolded. The ART of Van Hoepen ran wide over the grass, rejoining the track without incident. A yellow flag followed quickly—Domingues had been spun across the circuit, prompting the caution. The green flag soon returned as the race resumed full pace.
Tsolov, sitting in fifth, came under pressure from Leon but held his ground. Ugochukwu mounted an attack on Leon down the front straight, but couldn’t make the move stick.
Out front, Del Pino began to edge away from Tramnitz, pulling a 0.7-second gap. Behind them, Sharp began sizing up Ugochukwu, who remained laser-focused on Leon. As Ugochukwu finally dove past Leon, Sharp followed him through with a well-timed move.
Tramnitz, determined not to let the lead slip away, launched his attack. He moved decisively past his teammate Del Pino and seized the lead. Del Pino dropped back into a 0.7s deficit but soon began to claw it back, closing in along the front straight and reentering DRS range.
Drama struck at Tosa. Marinangeli pulled off track at the exit with a wheel missing, his car dragging through the gravel. The incident triggered a Virtual Safety Car, followed by a full Safety Car to allow marshals time to clear the debris and stranded car.
A busy race for the safety car
At the end of Lap 8, with ten laps remaining, the Safety Car peeled back into the pits. Tramnitz nailed the restart, opening a gap to Del Pino. Further back, Tsolov got a strong run on Boya into Turn 1, but Boya clung to third.
Then, disaster struck for Boya. He began to lose power, dropping like a stone to tenth before falling even further. A yellow flag emerged once more—Zagazeta had gone off and beached himself in the gravel. His front-right wheel wobbled ominously, suggesting contact preceded the off-track excursion.
The Safety Car reappeared. Boya limped back to the pits and retired.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 11. Tramnitz again managed a strong restart, keeping Del Pino just outside of DRS range as it approached reactivation. Tsolov closed in on Del Pino but couldn’t find a way through. Sharpe, hot on Tsolov’s heels, eyed an opening.
Tsolov launched another attack down the front straight, but Del Pino defended well. DRS was enabled once again, and Sharpe began to pressure Tsolov from behind.
Further down the order, Voisin and Zagazeta fell under investigation for forcing another driver off the circuit. Voisin received a ten-second penalty. Ugochukwu successfully overtook Bilinski in a clean move, pushing further up the field.
Taponen dove down the inside of Leon, forcing Leon wide and into the gravel—another costly error.
The final laps
With three laps remaining, Strømsted set his sights on Taponen. He got the run down the front straight and into Turn 1, cleanly taking seventh. The top six remained tightly bunched, each within DRS range of the car ahead.
Bilinski attempted to reclaim his position from Strømsted but couldn’t make it stick. Strømsted then went after Ugochukwu in fifth. Ugochukwu made a mistake, allowing Strømsted through—then lost another position to the recovering Taponen.
As the final lap began, Del Pino had closed to within 0.3 seconds of Tramnitz. Both MP Motorsport drivers pushed to the limit. Del Pino searched for a way through, aiming to become the twelfth different podium finisher of the season.
But the positions held.
Tramnitz crossed the line first, leading an MP Motorsport 1–2 finish with Del Pino close behind. Tsolov completed the podium in third after a composed, pressure-filled drive.
Final results
The final results are in for the F3 Sprint Race in Imola, they are as follows:
1 | T. Tramnitz MP Motorsport
2 | B. Del Pino MP Motorsport
3 | N. Tsolov Campos Racing
4 | L. Sharp Rodin Motorsport
5 | R. Bilinski Rodin Motorsport
6 | N. Strømsted Trident
7 | T. Taponen ART Grand Prix
8 | U. Ugochukwu PREMA Racing
9 | N. León PREMA Racing
10 | A. Giusti MP Motorsport
11 | R. Camara Trident
12 | B. Benavides AIX Racing
13 | M. Stenshorne Hitech TGR
14 | J. Dufek Hitech TGR
15 | N. Lacorte DAMS Lucas Oil
16 | B. Badoer PREMA Racing
17 | L. Van Hoepen ART Grand Prix
18 | J. Hedley AIX Racing
19 | T. Inthraphuvasak Campos Racing
20 | T. Naël Van Amersfoort Racing
21 | C. Ho DAMS Lucas Oil
22 | J. Wharton ART Grand Prix
23 | C. Wurz Trident
24 | G. Xie Hitech TGR
25 | I. Domingues Van Amersfoort Racing
26 | C. Voisin Rodin Motorsport
27 | S . Ramos Van Amersfoort Racing
28 [DNF] | M. Boya Campos Racing
29 [DNF] | M. Zagazeta DAMS Lucas Oil
30 [DNF] | N. Marinangeli AIX Racing
