F3 | Qualifying | Belgian GP | Benavides claims sensational maiden pole - Motorsport

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The 2025 FIA F3 Championship resumed at Spa-Francorchamps for Round 8, with AIX Racing’s Brad Benavides claiming a sensational maiden pole position in a dramatic and closely fought Qualifying session, full Belgian GP report and results below. The day began with a disrupted Free Practice, where limited running and widespread track limits violations offered few clear indicators ahead of the all-important Qualifying battle.

Boya top but track limits the focus of Free Practice

Heavy fog in the Ardennes delayed Free Practice by five hours, reducing the session to just 30 minutes. All 30 drivers headed out immediately to maximise limited track time on the fast, unpredictable Spa layout. Campos Racing showed strong pace once again, with Mari Boya setting the fastest lap, though it was later deleted for track limits—he still ended the session in P1. Teammates Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (P5) and Nikola Tsolov (P8) confirmed the team’s strength heading into the weekend.

ART’s Ugo Ugochukwu finished P4, while Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne and MP Motorsport’s Bruno del Pino rounded out the top three. Trident endured a challenging session, with championship leader Rafael Câmara managing only P11 after multiple track limits infringements. Freddie Slater returned to F3 action with Hitech TGR, finishing P17 in his second outing of the season.

The session, marked by limited running, numerous lap deletions and several off-track moments, offered little clarity ahead of a highly anticipated Qualifying.

A fast-paced start to F3 Qualifying at the Belgian GP

After a later-than-planned start to the session, the drivers were quick out onto the rapidly-evolving track, completing an early exploration of the track. Trident’s Noah Strømsted was the first out on track, a deviation from his team’s usual strategy of leaving it late. He was followed by DAMS Lucas Oil’s Matías Zagazeta and Christian Ho, with the AIX Racing trio of James Hedley, Nicola Marinangeli and Brad Benavides close behind.

The drivers were quick to put times onto the timesheet with Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne setting the early benchmark of 2:06.389. However, he soon fell down the order with Trident’s Rafael Câmara, the 2025 F3 Championship leader, claiming P1 with a 2:05.557. Campos Racing’s Mari Boya, who topped Free Practice, settled behind in P2, before losing his lap time due to track limit violations. This saw Prema Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu claim P2 with a 2:05.791, with Campos Racing’s Tasanapol Intraphuvasak rounding out the top three with a 2:06.005. Despite the early action, several drivers remained at the bottom on the timesheet, without a representative time. Track limit violations say the likes of Hedley, Sharp, Stenshorne, Bilinski, León and Boya also without a time as the first third of the session came to its end.

Câmara a top challenger but track limits a major challenge

With just under 20 minutes on the clock, the drivers, with the exception of the Van Amersfoort trio, attempted another lap around the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps, with Intraphuvasak and MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti improving to P2 and P3 respectively, getting ahead of Ugochukwu. Boya, meanwhile improved to P11, setting a 2:06.112 as he fought to recover from his early set back.

With half of the session complete, just 1.0 seconds separated the top 20 drivers, with only León not yet with a truly representative Qualifying time. Câmara remained in the lead as the drivers returned the pit lane, with close championship challenger, Nikola Tsolov in P5 with a 2:05.791. Meanwhile, Tim Tramnitz, currently second in the 2025 F3 Drivers’ Championship, sat at the lowly P18. His 2:06.500 say him 0.9 seconds off the session leader.

Naël challenges for pole

With just under 12 minutes on the clock, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Théophile Naël claimed provisional pole position with a 2:05.508, beating Câmara’s long-standing time by just 0.049 seconds. His teammate, Santiago Ramos also took advantage of the empty track, taking P3 with a 2:05.680 as Ivan Domingues, the third of the Van Amersfoort trio, took P10. They returned to the pit lane, as Boya led the pack around the circuit on their outlap.

Benavides claims pole after chaotic end to F3 Belgian GP Qualifying

With just about five minutes left on the clock, Boya and Tsolov, both still in contention for the championship, led the pack across the line to begin their final Qualifying laps. With Boya going fastest in the second sector, he posed a significant challenge to the provisional pole-sitter. He capitalised on it to claim provisional pole. However, he quickly dropped down the order as AIX Racing’s Brad Benavides claimed the top spot with a 2:04.253. Despite a strong attempt from Câmara, he failed to out-do Benavides, settling for second with a 2:04.460. However, he soon lost his time due to track limit violations, dropping down the order to P23. This saw Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin and Roman Bilinski take P2 and P3 with Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne in P4, ahead of Prema Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu in P5.

The final minutes say the full pack of 30 drivers trundling around the track. With the cars all bunched up, improvement on the final lap seemed improbable with the traffic too heavy to navigate. Câmara, did however, receive good news as his lap time was re-instated on further review. After a chaotic end to the session, Benavides remained on top, claiming pole position for the session.