Trident’s Team Manager Giacomo Ricci and Campos Racing’s Team Principal Adrian Campos Jr. shared their insights on the new generation of FIA F3 cars, which debuted on track for the first time this year. During Thursday’s media session at the season finale in Monza, Ricci and Campos Jr. spoke to Pit Debrief and other media outlets about their teams’ experience with the cars and the promising prospects of future F3 line-ups.
Understanding of new FIA F3 car
During last year’s season finale, a new generation of the FIA F3 car was unveiled to the world. Making their debut this season, these cars will remain in use until 2027. Designed to align more closely with the technical evolution of F2 and ultimately F1 cars, they presented both drivers and teams with the challenge of rapidly adapting to and understanding of new machinery.
Speaking on behalf of Trident, Ricci expressed his satisfaction with how quickly the team adapted to and understood the new car: “Well, on this topic I’m extremely pleased about the work that has been done by the Trident engineer because especially for me, when we hit the ground in Australia our package was very very competitive and it remained through the season. So for this one, I’m extremely pleased I have to say.”
For the newly crowned F3 Team Champions, Campos Jr’s team and his drivers delivered the Spanish outfit’s most successful FIA F3 season to date. Like Ricci, Campos Jr proudly expressed his pride and satisfaction with the team’s outstanding performance this year.
“Well, I think more or less the same as Giacomo [Ricci]. I think also as a team we have done a good job since the beginning. We have been strong. I think especially in race pace we have been one of the strongest out there. And yeah, regarding the car, it’s closer to that too. We have more ground force and we need to get used to that and I think our engineers did very good.”
“Let’s see how this weekend [Monza] goes because it’s a completely different track in terms of high speed and it’s completely particular. So hopefully we can be strong and we can fight for the championship.”
Future talent prospects at Campos
For Campos Racing, a standout 2025 season was one to celebrate—securing the Teams’ Championship and placing two drivers inside the top three of the Drivers’ Standings, with Nikola Tsolov and Mari Boya finishing behind 2025 Formula 3 Champion Rafael Câmara respectively.
Having claimed three pole positions, six victories, and eight additional podiums, Boya, Tsolov, and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak led the Spanish outfit to a highly successful season. When asked by Pit Debrief how their recent success has boosted excitement around future driver prospects, Campos Jr admitted that it has given them the opportunity to lock in the fate of their future very early on.
Campos Jr said: “Yes, as Giacomo [Ricci] said, if we have good results it’s always easier to, let’s say, choose the best drivers as possible and the best profiles for the following seasons. So, yeah, at this point in Formula 3, as we are finishing the season so early, I think the market is moving earlier and earlier this year. And when we were a bit more, a bit farther than halfway through the season, we were already signing drivers.”
“I think Giacomo was also the same. So, having a good start of the season and a good first part is always key to get the best drivers as possible for the following season and then keep having good results. So, for us, this is the main thing. We need to stay in the winning wheel. As I said, we need to stay there and for this, we need to have good drivers every year.”
Trident’s streak of success
Like Campos Jr, Ricci shared similar sentiments. Trident have enjoyed a remarkable streak of success in recent years, guiding their drivers to three consecutive titles now. While they might’ve lost out on the Teams’ Championship this year, what the team were able to achieve with Câmara behind the wheel was remarkable.
In response to Pit Debrief’s question, Ricci added: “I have to say exactly the same. So, it’s key to start the season in the right way. The market, as Adrian mentioned, is moving every year early and early. So, especially the first two or three races of the season are key. And then, again, keep up the momentum because positive attracts positive and this makes our life easier once you are at the front to sign a strong driver for the following year.”
With such strong performances, both Trident and Campos have become an increasingly popular option for young talents to get their best chance at winning the Formula 3 title. As the 2026 grid continues to shape up, both teams have locked in lineups with promising young talents. With several fresh faces joining the grid, Trident have confirmed their lineup, signing rookies Matteo De Palo and Freddie Slater, who will join returning driver Noah Strømsted at the team.
Meanwhile, Campos Racing will feature a completely new lineup, with Ernesto Rivera stepping up from Eurocup-3 to continue with the team, joined by returning drivers Ugo Ugochukwu and Théophile Naël, who join the team from PREMA Racing and Van Amersfoort Racing respectively, for their second Formula 3 campaigns.
Adapting and challenges of new 16-inch tyres
This year, the new Pirelli 16-inch tyres added another layer of complexity for the teams. While adapting to both a new car and tyres could’ve been tough, both Ricci and Campos Jr appeared unfazed by the challenges of the new tyres this year, having found what works for their teams respectively through their own approaches.
Ricci said: “I think the toughest part, first of all, is from the team’s side because it is so important to give to the driver a car that is within the window, a car that is working with the new tyre and this one is a big challenge for the engineer. Once the car is in the window, then you help the driver to find the fine tuning in terms of driving and maybe they need a little bit to change the driving style with the new tyre. But again, for me, in my opinion, the key point is to give them a car that is absolutely in the window.”
Campos Jr said: “For us, it’s the same. It’s like last year. I mean, we need to do maybe some different things to bring the tyres in the window, but it’s the same.”
“Once the tyres are in the window, they work like they were working last year. We need to make sure that the drivers bring these tyres to the window in the right moment, especially for qualifying. So, also with all the software of simulation that we have nowadays and with all the work that we have done in precision, I think we have been ready for this challenge of these new 16-inch tyres.”
“Since the beginning, we, let’s say, more or less understood them, how they work, and we can test them all the way through all day.”
Learning and continuous improvement is the recipe to success at Trident
While both teams have enjoyed considerable success this year, their work with the new car is far from over. In a tight and competitive series like Formula 3, teams and drivers must keep evolving to stay at the front of the field. Despite their competitiveness, Ricci agreed that ongoing development and continuous improvement remain essential in staying competitive.
Ricci said: “Well, I think also with the old car, we never end to develop. Every year, we try to move a little bit forward also because everyone is catching up extremely quickly. I still have the feeling that at the start of the season, we had a big advantage, then everyone went closer to the season.”
“I believe that we are at a good level where we are now, but the development will never end because no one stops, no one likes to be at the back, so everyone will work as hard as possible, and the same we have to do on our side because every detail counts and it’s so important always to try to improve things.”
“The car today is key, and if you can find somehow this small advantage in such a championship that is so close, then the result, especially in qualifying, is a big advantage. So again, to answer to your question, we never stop on the car development. I believe that we are at a good level, but we absolutely need to move forward for the future.”
Campos’ core focus remains on improvement
Echoing Ricci’s views, Campos Jr highlighted how their team have continuously improved throughout their time in the championship. He further emphasised that, despite their success, they will keep working hard to continue improving and maximising their time with this generation of FIA F3 cars.
Campos Jr added: “Yes, exactly the same. It’s only the first year that we have been working with this car, and with the previous one, we have been improving through all six seasons. So even if we are one of the strongest teams or we are not, we will also keep working as hard as possible to keep improving.”
“We cannot leave anything apart from the thing that we have done, so we are always improving, and I am sure that when we finish the life of this car, it will be a lot better than what we have done, even if we are not doing the best we can.”
