F3 | Qualifying | Italian GP | Benavides snatches pole with stunning last-lap effort - Motorsport

Spread the love

AIX Racing’s Brad Benavides claimed his second pole-position of the year during the final Qualifying session of the season at the F3 Italian GP, full report and results below.

Like Monaco, Monza’s Qualifying session will split the grid into two groups: odd-numbered cars and even-numbered cars. During the drivers’ briefing, the groups were drawn and confirmed, with Group A (odd-numbered cars) taking to the track first for a 10-minute session, followed by Group B (even-numbered cars) with the another 10-minutes session to set their fastest time.

The driver with the fastest overall time will take pole position for the Feature Race, with the rest of their group filling the odd-numbered grid slots. Subsequently, the fastest driver from the other group will line up on the front row alongside the pole-sitter, while the rest of their group takes the even-numbered slots. However, for the Sprint Race, the sixth-fastest driver from the second-fastest group takes reverse-grid pole, with the sixth-fastest driver from the pole-sitter’s group lining up alongside them on the front row.

It was an eventful start to the weekend as PREMA Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu set the pace during Free Practice. The American set a time of 1:38.473 to go to the top of the timings, with Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov and his teammate Noel Leon rounding up the top three. The field saw an usual mix, with reigning F3 champion Rafael Câmara down in P18. And, unfortunate for Rodin Motorsport’s Roman Bilinski, dipping a wheel into Ascari sent the 21 year-old spinning into the barriers.

Group A Qualifying: Odd-numbered cars

It’s time to go Qualifying for the final time at the F3 Italian GP in 2025! 10-minutes ticked down as Hedley, now sporting VAR colours, was first to head out on track.

The track remained relatively quiet as cameras panned to Câmara who remained in the pits. As 5 minutes remained, all drivers were now out on track. With all 15 drivers now out on track, everyone lined up for their one and only flying lap of the session—all refusing to give up their on-track position as a tow can be extremely useful here. Tim Tramnitz and Callum Voisin were the only drivers who made it across the line and could possibly go on another flying lap.

Setting a purple first sector was Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak. Meanwhile through Ascari, Tramnitz lit up the timing sheets as a second purple sector was enough for him to go to the top with a 1:38.911. Next across the line, Inthraphuvasak catapulted himself to the top with a 1:38.626. Soon enough, Câmara replaced the Thai at the top with a 1:38.520. Crossing the line, Tramnitz and Giusti were the only two drivers who made it across the line to complete two flying laps.

With a purple first sector, Tramnitz’s second flying lap wasn’t enough for him to improve as he stayed in P5. Meanwhile, Giusti crossed the line and managed to improve with a time of 1:38.670 to go P4.

Ending the first part of Qualifying dramatically, Câmara’s lap time was deleted for track limits at Turn 5. Ultimately, this meant he’ll start at the back of the grid on Sunday. However, Ugochukwu’s time of a 1:38.613 was enough for him to top the timings in Group A.

Standings for Group A:

U. Ugochukwu 1:38.613
T. Inthraphuvasak
R. Bilinski
A. Giusti
T. Tramnitz
L. Van Hoepen
B. Badoer
N. Johnson
C. Ho
C. Voisin
J. Wharton
J. Hedley
N. Lacorte
N. Marinangeli
R. Câmara

Group B Qualifying: Even-numbered cars

Green light at the end of the pit lane as drivers headed out on track. After seeing what had worked for Group A, more drivers had opted to head out earlier. As 8-minutes remained, all drivers were now on track. Group B’s task was to now chase Ugochukwu’s time of a 1:38.613.

After an exploratory lap, all drivers headed back into the pits before heading out once more. On the way down to the chicane, a queue was building up as everyone continued to build up to a lap. Tsolov led the pack down to Turn 1. The Bulgarian crossed the line with a 1:38.903. Subsequently, remaining drivers crossed the line to push Tsolov down the order as Noah Strømsted claimed his position at the top with a 1:38.647.

Both Stenshorne and Tsolov got their lap times deleted and were relegated to the bottom. With a purple first sector, Boya went to the top with a 1:38.638. Meanwhile, Charlie Wurz went to the top with a 1:38.604. However, Tuukka Taponen delivered a stunning lap to cross the line with a 1:38.502. Disaster struck for Boya as a bolt holding down his sidepods came loose and left his car flapping.

Next across the line was Noel Leon who improved with a time of 1:38.382 that catapulted him to the top. Meanwhile, luckily for Tsolov, the Bulgarian executed a better lap to go P2 with a time of 1:38.467. Lighting up the timing sheets was Brad Benavides. With a purple sector two and three, the American crossed the line to claim his second pole-position of the year.

Standings for Group B:

B. Benavides 1:38.120
N. Leon
N. Tsolov
M. Zagazeta
T. Taponen
M. Stenshorne
I. Domingues
C. Wurz
M. Boya
N. Strømsted
T. Nael
L. Sharp
G. Xie
B. Del Pino
F. Barrichello

That wraps up the final Qualifying session of the season, though with several incidents under investigation, the results below remain provisional. However, lining up on the front-row for Sprint Saturday will be Van Hoepen and Stenshorne.