Mari Boya secured valuable points in Saturday’s F3 Sprint Race at the 2025 Hungarian GP, but the Campos Racing driver admitted he was left wondering what could have been without a late-race Safety Car that neutralised his charge.
Starting from 11th, Boya made immediate progress on the opening lap to climb into the top eight. His momentum continued as he capitalised on a collision between Théophile Nael and Noel León, which promoted him to seventh. However, the Lap 14 incident also brought out the Safety Car, halting his pursuit of further positions and limiting the race to just one more lap of green flag running.
“I’m quite happy, although maybe a bit disappointed,” reflected Boya after the race. “I expected the deg to be a bit higher. Maybe all the teams were really scared about the deg, and people were not really pushing at the beginning, so there was a really big DRS train.”
“So when I saw that I was stronger than the people I was around, I decided to attack. I was making an important move on Nael because I felt he was one of the strongest there, but then the crash happened, and the Safety Car came.”
Late Safety Car stops the charge
Boya had timed his Sprint Race approach around tyre degradation, expecting to mount a stronger attack in the closing stages. The crash and subsequent intervention halted any chance of progressing further up the order.
“I think this was key to the race. It was the point where I was a lot faster than the three cars in front. It was important to overtake on the last lap, but the Safety Car came, so there were no laps at the end to make a move.”
The Spaniard ultimately had to settle for seventh, gaining solid points but feeling slightly frustrated by what the neutralised finish cost him.
Eyes on Feature Race win
Looking ahead to Sunday at the 2025 Hungarian GP, Boya, who started the Sprint Race from P11 under the reverse-grid conditions, will line up on the front row of the grid for the Feature Race alongside Rafael Câmara. The Campos driver is feeling confident in both the car and his own pace, though he opted not to take major risks in the Sprint that could jeopardise his starting position.
“Also, starting P2 tomorrow, I didn’t want to risk a penalty. But the pace and the car felt really good, and I am confident, I was already confident before the race, so looking forward to tomorrow and let’s see.”
Analysing missed opportunities
Despite the limitations imposed by the Safety Car, Boya believes he had analysed the situation well and had a real chance at finishing higher if racing had resumed with more laps remaining.
“I read the race as trying to attack in the last four or five laps, and P4 was possible. I was analysing everything and seeing how people were struggling at the end, but the Safety Car came, and we couldn’t do anything, so we learn for tomorrow.”
Mindset focused on winning, not the title fight
While Câmara, who also took points in the Sprint Race, could mathematically clinch the 2025 F3 Championship in Sunday’s Feature Race at the Hungarian GP, Boya insists that his own goal remains unchanged—taking the chequered flag.
“To win the race,” said Boya of his goal for the race. “I don’t care about the Championship. He has more to lose than me at this point. But as I said yesterday, my mindset is to enjoy what I am doing and I think it will be a race I will enjoy.”
With his starting position secured and confidence high, Boya approaches Sunday with nothing to lose and everything to gain—channelling his momentum into what he hopes will be one of his strongest performances of the season.
