The second round of the triple header sees the F3 drivers take to the streets of Monte Carlo for Round 4 of the 2025 Formula 3 season, full report and results below. The track action is set to start a day earlier on Thursday with the F3 Monaco GP Free Practice. The other major difference is that Qualifying is split into two groups, A or B, with odd and even numbered drivers split between the two. The F3 Monaco GP saw Gabriele Minì win the Feature Race, and Nikola Tsolov win the Sprint Race. Will Tsolov make the same impression two years running?
The Monte Carlo street circuit challenges drivers more than almost any other track on the calendar. Its low speeds, tight layout, and narrow roads offer few opportunities for overtaking. F3 drivers will rely heavily on Free Practice, as they have just 45 minutes to adapt to the circuit. One mistake can send them into the barriers at any corner, so they must build confidence quickly during the F3 Monaco GP Practice session. With rain highly likely over the weekend, the conditions will test the drivers’ skill and composure, while also adding intrigue and entertainment at the iconic circuit.
Who will be the new feature race winner?
Gabriele Minì won the Monaco Feature Race in both 2023 and 2024, but with his promotion to F2, a new winner will emerge this year. He claimed victory from pole position on both occasions, highlighting just how crucial qualifying is in Monaco. If history repeats itself, the driver who secures pole tomorrow could very well take the win. Could Trident’s Rafael Câmara add to his three pole positions already this season? Or will a new contender, like Santiago Ramos—the winner of last weekend’s Imola Feature Race—step up and make their mark?
It’s lights out for Free Practice in Monaco
The drivers took to the Monte Carlo street circuit under virtual safety car conditions to get familar with the track as many of the drivers haven’t driven here before.
As the driver’s started their inital push laps, Noah Stromsted led the timing ahead of Trident teammate Câmara, with a time of 1:30.051. This inital lead slowly dissipated as the drivers continued to push, with Tim Tramnitz then following with a 1:28.875 as drivers got heat in their tyres.
The F3 drivers faced a tough session when they tried to start their push laps, as the final corner of the track became challenging due to heavy traffic. This traffic is one of the main reasons tomorrows Qualifying session is being split into two groups. Many drivers attempted push laps but got caught behind others who were on in-laps or out-laps.
Tramnitz continued to set the fastest lap, with his new time set at 1:27.733, then proceeded to improve again, ahead of his MP Motorsport teammate Alessandro Giusti, with a time of 1:27.459. Giusti followed in P2, with a time of 1:27.976, 0.5 seconds behind Tramnitz.
25 minutes left of the F3 Monaco GP Free Practice session
Most drivers, at this point, were still running carry-over Medium Pirelli tyres from Imola last weekend. The track continued to evolve and the drivers proceeded to gain more confidence in Monaco.
This saw the next mass of improvements. Tramnitz again set the fastest time, with a 1:26.608, Giusti followed with 1:26.902, and Nikola Tsolov was in P3 with 1:27.146.
The track falls quiet while the drivers return to the pits to swap from Medium to Soft tyres
The drivers hit the track with 16 minutes left of the F3 Monaco GP Practice, so they could mimick potential conditions and times that could be seen tomorrow in the Qualifying sessions. It took the drivers a few laps to get used to the softer tyre, regaining confidence on a new set of tyres.
Red flag hits the track with 10 minutes to go
Stromsted started his first flying lap on the soft tyres, but it was brought to a holt as he hit the wall into Turn 1 of the Monte Carlo circuit. A Red Flag was brought out to collect his car and the debris over the track, Stormsted reporting that he was okay and jumping out of the car.
The time continued to tick down, with 10 minutes left of the only Practice session for F3 in Monaco. The drivers hadn’t had an opportunity, at this point, to set any flying laps with the soft tyres, which would make for unknown conditions heading into tomorrow’s qualifying session.
Lights go green for the last push of practice
With six minutes remaining, the Green Flag waved, and drivers returned to the track, aiming to warm up their tyres enough for a run on softs. They had to navigate around others on different phases of their laps, leading to heavy traffic in the final minutes.
Tramnitz began his flying lap and set purple sectors in 1 and 2, but encountered traffic and couldn’t improve on his earlier time set on mediums. With two minutes to go, Mari Boya jumped to P1 with a 1:26.393.
Domingues ran wide and briefly triggered a yellow flag as he rejoined the track, but officials quickly cleared the incident. While on his flying lap, Brad Benavides encountered heavy traffic, getting held up by five cars—one of which nearly veered into his path.
At the end of the session, the experienced Tsolov topped the timesheets with a 1:25.622. Tramnitz followed closely with a 1:25.841, and Charlie Wurz—who was the last driver to cross the finish line—secured third with a 1:26.065. Câmara, the current FIA F3 2025 Championship leader, finished P4 in the F3 Monaco GP Practice session.
Full results from F3 Monaco Free Practice Round
- N. Tsolov
- T.Tranmitz
- C. Wurz
- R Camara
- C. Voisin
- N. Leon
- M. Stenshorne
- M. Moya
- L. Van Hoepen
- T. Nael
- S. Ramos
- U. Ugochukwu
- A. Giusti
- R. Bilinski
- G. Xie
- Domingues
- J. Dufek
- T. Taponen
- B. Benavides
- B. Del Pino
- N. Stromsted
- T. Inthraphuvasak
- J. Hedley
- L. Sharp
- N. Larcrote
- M. Zagazeta
- C. Ho
- B. Badoer
- J. Wharton
- N. Marinangeli
