The final round of the 2025 FIA Formula 3 season has officially commenced at Monza, with the F3 Italian GP set to wrap up the season, starting with FP. While Rafael Câmara has already secured the Drivers’ Championship, he will be chasing history this weekend, as one more victory would give him a record-breaking fifth win in a single F3 season. Meanwhile, the Teams’ Championship remains undecided, with Trident holding a narrow 19-point lead over Campos Racing heading into the finale, ensuring the battle will go right down to the wire.
Fernando Barrichello will be racing for the first time in F3 for AIX Racing, with James Hedley driving for Van Amersfoort Racing, replacing Santiago Ramos for the last race.
Green lights at Monza
Ugo Ugochukwu set the early benchmark with a 1:40.445, placing himself at the top of the timesheets ahead of Noel León and Theophile Naël in P2 and P3. As drivers pushed the limits in the opening stages, lap deletions for track limits quickly became a common theme across the field.
Naël then responded with an even stronger lap, clocking a 1:40.084 to move himself into provisional P1.
RED FLAG
After setting a purple Sector 1, Roman Bilinski’s session came to an abrupt end when he dipped a tyre onto the gravel midway through Ascari, sending his Rodin Motorsport car spinning into the outside wall. The impact brought out a red flag, forcing drivers back to the pit lane while the barrier was cleared.
When the session was halted, Naël remained at the top of the timesheets, with Charlie Wurz placing his Trident in second and León holding onto third.
Green flags with 16 minutes left on the clock
Once the session resumed, the field headed back out, and the remaining minutes quickly began to resemble a Qualifying shootout. However, grip levels proved tricky, with several drivers sliding across the circuit as they pushed the limits.
Times began to tumble, and it was Tim Tramnitz who briefly took control with a 1:39.659. Shortly after, Tasapol Inthrapuvask followed closely behind on a 1:39.725. Yet, Câmara soon stamped his authority on the session, going three-tenths clear of the field with a 1:39.346.
Meanwhile, León suffered a scare at the second Lesmo when he dipped his rear tyres into the gravel. Despite a half-spin, he managed to recover and re-join without major damage.
5 minutes remained of the F3 Italian GP FP session
With just five minutes remaining, Martinius Stenshorne moved his Hitech TGR machine to the top of the timesheets, setting the pace in the closing stages. Moments later, Nicola Lacorte locked up but managed to carry enough momentum through the gravel to re join without damage.
As the clock ticked down, drivers began creating space to prepare for their final push laps. Tramnitz was among the first to head out, but his effort only placed him P7. Meanwhile, the rapidly improving track conditions sparked a flurry of purple sectors, shaking up the order as unexpected names surged to the top.
Tsolov briefly claimed P1, only to be displaced seconds later by Ugochukwu, who sealed the session lead. Further drama came when Barrichello ran wide at Lesmo 2, the same place Noel León had gone off earlier, kicking more gravel onto the circuit. With some drivers unable to complete their final flying laps, the timesheets ended up unusually mixed heading into Qualifying.
Race control confirmed that James Hedley would be investigated for a potential red flag infringement after the session. Additionally, Theophile Naël was noted for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane.
Full results from F3 Italian GP Free Practice
- U. Ugochukwu 1:38.473
- N. Tsolov
- N. León
- C. Voisin
- T. Naël
- M. Zagazeta
- T. Inthraphuvasak
- M. Boya
- N. Strømsted
- L. Sharp
- L. Van Hoepen
- B. Badoer
- T. Taponen
- N. Johnson
- M. Stenshorne
- G. Xie
- C. Ho
- R. Câmara
- I. Domingues
- A. Giusti
- T. Tramnitz
- B. Benavides
- C. Wurz
- J. Hedley
- N. Marinangeli
- B. Del Pino
- R. Bilinski
- F. Barrichello
- J. Wharton
- N. Lacorte
