The 2025 F3 Austrian GP delivered plenty of chaos, featuring multiple red flags in Practice and just as many safety cars during both the Sprint and Feature Races. The Red Bull Ring offered ample overtaking opportunities, but that also meant drivers leading DRS trains often dropped back without the benefit of slipstream. With several post-race disqualifications and penalties shaking up the results, we take a look back at the 2025 F3 Austrian Grand Prix and break down the weekend’s biggest winners and losers.
Winners of the 2025 F3 Austrian GP
James Wharton – ART Grand Prix
Wharton’s luck finally turned around in spectacular fashion at Round 6 of the 2025 FIA F3 season. It was only a matter of time, with his confidence growing race after race in the first half of the season. On Friday, he delivered his best Qualifying performance to date, securing P12 and a front-row start for the Sprint Race. The Australian driver had a superb launch off the line in the Sprint Race, maintaining his lead throughout multiple safety cars, to take away his first win in Formula 3. With that result, Wharton now has 13 points and sits P19 in the 2025 FIA F3 Drivers’ Championship.
Martinius Stenshorne – Hitech TGR
Stenshorne’s weekend began with a tough Qualifying session on Friday, leaving him down in P15. However, he bounced back in the Sprint Race, climbing eight positions to finish in P8 and score valuable points. In Sunday’s Feature Race, he methodically worked his way through the field, reaching P5 by the end of Lap 11. He then set his sights on the podium, firstly overtaking Ugochukwu at Turn 3 to take P4, then using DRS to pass Strømsted for P3. Although he crossed the line in P2, post-race penalties reshuffled the results. After Tsolov was disqualified for excessive plank wear, Stenshorne was promoted to P1, securing his second win of the season.
Mari Boya – Campos Racing
Boya started the weekend with the announcement that he was the first signing as part of the newly formed Aston Martin Driver Academy. Boya only qualified in P14, highlighting just how competitive the F3 grid was around the Red Bull Ring. However, he didn’t let that setback hold him back. In both the Sprint and Feature Races, he showcased the power of DRS at this circuit, making steady progress through the field. After the races, and following several post-race disqualifications, Boya emerged with a P5 finish in the Sprint and a P3 podium in the Feature Race.
Tim Tramnitz – MP Motorsport
Tramnitz was another driver who struggled in Qualifying, starting down in P17. But he didn’t let that setback define his weekend. In the Sprint Race, he charged through the field to finish P7, later being promoted to P6 after post-race penalties. The Feature Race was where he truly delivered, capitalising on DRS trains to storm from P17 to a remarkable P2, following Tsolov’s disqualification. Tramnitz left Austria with an additional 23 points and now sits second in the 2025 FIA F3 Drivers’ Championship, just 24 points behind leader Câmara.
Losers of the 2025 F3 Austrian GP
Nikola Tsolov – Campos Racing
Tsolov looked set for a standout weekend and seemed poised to be one of its biggest winners, but a post-race disqualification ultimately placed him among the weekend’s losers at the 2025 F3 Austrian GP. He topped the timesheets in Practice and carried that momentum into Qualifying, securing pole position and the Aramco Pole Award. In the Sprint Race, he delivered an impressive drive from P12 to P4, which he was later promoted to P3 following Ugochukwu’s post-race penalty. On Sunday, he crossed the line first in the Feature Race, seemingly sealing a near-perfect weekend. However, a post-race disqualification due to plank wear stripped Tsolov of the win. As a result, he lost P2 in the Drivers’ Championship, turning what could have been a championship-defining weekend into a major setback. He now sits third overall with 89 points, trailing Tramnitz by four.
Brad Benavides – AIX Racing
Benavides enjoyed one of his strongest weekends so far, finally scoring points, but the setbacks he faced ultimately outweighed the reward. After qualifying a career-best P2 on Friday, he started the Sprint Race from the sixth row due to the reverse grid format. Unfortunately, contact with del Pino forced his AIX Racing car into retirement. Feeling the pressure to deliver in the Feature Race, Benavides made an aggressive push to defend P2. However, as the leader of a DRS train with no DRS advantage himself, he gradually fell through the field. He crossed the line in P11, but post-race disqualifications for Van Hoepen and Tsolov promoted him to P9, allowing him to salvage 2 points from a weekend that promised far more.
Ugo Ugochukwu – Prema Racing
Ugochukwu looked set to collect a solid points haul from the F3 Austrian GP, but things quickly unraveled after the Sprint Race. He delivered a strong performance in Qualifying, securing P8, and crossed the line in P3 during the Sprint, which would have been his best result of the season. However, a post-race 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage dropped him all the way down to P16. Adding to the drama, Ugochukwu reportedly failed to follow race director instructions after the race and before the podium ceremony, causing a delay while officials located him. He managed to recover in the Feature Race, finishing P4 after Tsolov’s disqualification, but missing out on that Sprint podium significantly impacted what could have been a standout weekend.
Rafael Câmara – Trident
Championship leader Câmara looked poised to extend his lead heading into Austria, but instead endured one of his weakest weekends of the season, coming away with his second-lowest points haul to date. He qualified in P7 after aborting his final flying lap, which left him on the back foot for the Sprint Race, where he finished P9. In the Feature Race, Câmara continued to struggle but managed to cross the line in P4, later promoted to P3 following Tsolov’s disqualification. Without that disqualification, only one point would have separated the two title contenders after the Austrian GP.
That wraps up the winners and losers from the F3 Austrian GP. The drivers now head to Silverstone for Round 7 of the 2025 FIA F3 Championship from the 4th-6th of July.
