Trident’s Rafael Câmara stormed to the top and claimed his record-breaking fifth pole position of the year during Qualifying at the F3 Hungarian GP. A step closer to sealing the title, the Brazilian driver will line up on the front-row on Sunday to hopefully secure his fourth Feature Race win. Currently holding a 28-point lead, and another round to go, Câmara remains comfortable out in front. Whilst his closest rivals—Nikola Tsolov and Tim Tramnitz—qualified well down the order, the reigning FRECA champion needs to leave the weekend with a 40-point advantage in order to claim his well-earned title.
During the post-Qualifying Press Conference, the Brazilian spoke to Pit Debrief and other media outlet as he reflected on his complicated session.
“Very important” final lap secured the deal
It was a session with its highs and lows for Câmara. On his first push-lap, the Brazilian ran wide at Turn 4 and as a result had his lap time deleted—relegating him to the bottom. Whilst his second run was hindered by traffic, Câmara admitted he felt defeated as he returned to the pit lane.
“Yeah, I’m very happy to be in this position. It was a very tricky session. When I went in the pit lane, I thought it was over, to be honest.”
But, it was third time lucky for the 20 year-old. Beating Campos Racing’s Mari Boya to pole by 0.008s, overall, he was glad to have achieved an important result for the implications of his championship.
“And then afterwards, that final lap was very important. So yeah, just very happy with the result in the end. It was very important for the championship, and I see a lot of things to go on. And I’ll just focus to make sure I do two good races.”
Traffic struggles before push lap
During the session, Campos took a different approach from other teams in the field—running out of sync and prioritised a clear track. When asked if he felt his laps were only getting better, Câmara honestly admitted: “To be honest, not really.”.
The Brazilian explained his tricky Qualifying run as navigating traffic mistimed his initial push-lap. To avoid traffic and stay in sync with Campos’, Câmara was forced to do two slow laps, which made his session ever more complicated.
“Yes, I had to do basically three or four warm-ups lap, because I just didn’t went for the push lap when it was the right time. And then to be in sync with basically Campos, we had to do two slow laps just to make sure that I was not getting in traffic during the laps. So it was a bit tricky.”
As a result, Câmara believed the extra warm-up laps heavily affected his peak tyre life. He admitted it was a challenge to balance the tyre pressure and temperature before setting off on a push-lap. However, the 20 year-old was pleased to have put all the pieces together when it truly mattered.
“I think we lost a bit of the peak of the tyres, where we did a good warm-up and then we didn’t use tyres after. So it was very tricky to make sure that the pressure was in the right place, tyres were in the right temp. But in the end, we managed to somehow save a good result. And, yeah, just full focus now for the races.”
One step closer to the title
With Câmara securing pole position, he is now a step closer to claiming the 2025 F3 title. On Sunday, he now has placed himself in a prime opportunity to reach that 40-point advantage he needs to seal the deal. The Brazilian admitted that while his closest rivals qualified further down the order for the Feature Race, he still needs a clean race and is keeping an eye on Boya—currently sits P4 in the Drivers’ Standings and still mathematically in contention for the championship.
“I mean, yeah, of course. I mean, for the championship, it was good that the one that was closest to this Tim [Tramnitz], [Nikola] Tsolov, was a bit behind. And, like you said, Mari [Boya] is still in the fight.”
“But at the end of the day, I think I’ll just focus on myself, try to do a clean race. Whatever will happen, I’ll just try to maximise for my championship. And, yeah, just score good points.”
Focused on driving a clean-race, Câmara doesn’t want to get ahead of himself. Noting that if the title fight continues into the final round, the 20 year-old hopes to maximise his weekend.
“And whatever will be good, we never know how we’ll end the weekend. So even if we still need to fight in Monza, we’re ready. So whatever happens, of myself, I’ll just try to keep it clean and focus on what I can do the best.”
Record-breaking fifth pole position
In 2025, Câmara’s record-breaking five pole positions means he’d secured half of them. Showcasing impressive one-lap pace throughout the year, the Brazilian admitted it had come as a surprise to himself and Trident. Having acknowledged his strong start to the season, he highlighted their competitive consistency and is proud of his highly impressive rookie campaign.
“For sure it’s something that surprised us, myself and also the team. I think we started in a very good place with the car, especially in the right window. So we’re just about to maximise the first few weekends.”
“And then obviously afterwards more competitive. But I think we did a good job. Every time we were working hard to make sure we keep a good level. And I think this is what we managed to do at the end. And yeah, I think also myself very proud of what I did. I think it has been a very good season.”
Despite some misfortunes, maximising their weekends was key to remaining on top of their competitors. Expressing his gratitude to Trident, the Brazilian was delighted with their run of results in 2025.
Câmara said: “And I mean, I think it was not a big secret. I think we just tried to, each weekend, maximise what we can do, what is under our control. Maximise, I mean, me and the car to make sure that when we arrive in [Qualifying] we’re in the right spot.”
“And yeah, and then we end up in this position. Yeah, just very happy with this. Also a big thanks to the team to provide me the opportunity to be in this position. And yeah, I’ll try to keep going like this, doing my best. And maybe fight for another podium in Monza.”
“We just focus on ourselves” says Câmara on relayed information over radio
Câmara said, “I mean, during qualifying we just focus on ourselves.”, when asked about what information he liked to have relayed over the radio.
He continued: “I just want to know if I was in a good spot. And then after that you see what you can do from there. And yeah, I think these two races can be very important for the championship.”
“But I think I spoke with the team, we will speak about it. We just try to focus on ourselves, the job we have been doing. And Saturday and Sunday it was like the first race of the season, not the normal race. And we just try to maximise the performance.”
Tyre management will be key
The Hungaroring is notoriously known for punishing tyres due to the circuit’s coarse nature. This means, tyre degradation will be a concern for many drivers. Pit Debrief asked the top three about their preparation into long-runs as Câmara highlighted tyre degradation—especially on the medium compound—as a key factor at the Hungaroring. Though the team had expected to run the hard tyres, the switch back to mediums just before Spa means they’re now focused on managing the stint from the start and maximising performance strategically.
“Yeah, tyre [degradation] here is a big point. Especially on medium compounds. We expected to be on the hard, but just before the Spa we went back to the medium. So it’s something that I think we are aware of the issue. And we just try to maximise.”
“I mean, obviously, with the team, we look into the details of what we can do better from the finish to the end. And yeah, we have a huge take on the race, manage from the beginning and see where we can finish.”
The pressures of the final push lap
“Yeah, I mean, very tricky qualifying for myself.”, Câmara admitted.
After a disastrous two runs, the 20 year-old knew it came down to his final run. As he sat hopeless in the pits, Câmara momentarily assumed it was all over for him.
“First lap was the track limits and second push, a bit of traffic. I stopped the lap a bit too close, the car in front. And then I knew that the last lap would be the one that would count.”
“And yeah, I mean, in the end, somehow I think we managed to save this [Qualifying] because when I went in the pit lane, I thought it was over, the [Qualifying] basically. I had to basically stay in track for two laps without doing anything. Just make sure the tyres were in the window.”
Recalling the situation that unfolded, Câmara said: “And yeah, on my side, it was very stressful. I would say this season for sure was my peak of adrenaline. Because it was very, very intense with the team, how we managed the situation.”
“And yeah, when I started the lap, I knew it needed to be that one. I just made sure that everything would be clean, nice and tidy. And in the end, it was a very good result. And yeah, I was very, very happy.”
On Saturday, the Brazilian will line up P12 alongside Boya on the sixth row. Hoping to claim more valuable points, Câmara will hope to extend his advantage out in front.
