Qualifying for the 2025 Monte Carlo round of the FIA F3 Championship was divided into two groups to mitigate traffic issues on the tight and narrow Monaco street circuit. Group A comprised the even-numbered cars, while Group B featured the odd-numbered entries. Each group had 16 minutes to set their fastest times.
Nikola Tsolov led Group A with a 1:24.882, the quickest time overall, securing provisional pole position. Roman Biliński topped Group B with a 1:25.332, earning a front-row start. Both sessions were affected by yellow and red flag interruptions, impacting several drivers’ chances of improving their lap times. Track evolution also played a key role in the final standings.
Group A: Drivers in Even-Numbered Cars
As the lights went green, MP Motorsport’s Bruno Del Pino led the fifteen Group A drivers out onto the circuit to begin their 2025 Monte Carlo F3 Qualifying. After a few exploratory laps, Del Pino was the first to register a time, though it was Théophile Naël who initially set the pace with a 1:28.201, before quickly being shuffled down the order as faster laps came in.
Nikola Tsolov, who had topped Thursday’s Practice, laid down the first strong benchmark with a 1:26.072. Meanwhile, Mari Boya saw his initial time deleted for track limits, dropping to the bottom of the order, as Louis Sharp briefly brought out yellow flags by going deep at Turn 1. He recovered quickly, although Race Control noted his unsafe rejoin.
Noel León then went quickest with a 1:25.749, but Tsolov responded with a 1:25.647. Brad Benavides sat third on a 1:26.063, followed by Tuukka Taponen and Martinius Stenshorne. Boya bounced back by climbing to sixth with a 1:26.156.
As the session entered its final minutes and track conditions improved, lap times tumbled. León reclaimed top spot with a 1:25.502, only to be edged out by Boya’s 1:25.480. Charlie Wurz slotted into third with a 1:25.514. Tsolov, who had dropped to fourth, abandoned a lap but went again.
In the frantic final seconds, Tsolov delivered a blistering 1:24.882 to go top. Wurz moved to second with a 1:25.412, but León then improved to a 1:25.386. Boya, however, surged back to P2 with a 1:25.009, sealing an excellent recovery.
Standings:
- Nikola Tsolov – 1:24.882
- Mari Boya
- Noel León
- Charlie Wurz
- Tuukka Taponen
- Martinius Stenshorne
- Louis Sharp
- Noah Strømsted
- Ivan Domingues
- Brad Benavides
- Matías Zagazeta
- Théophile Naël
- Bruno Del Pino
- Gerrard Xie
- James Hedley
Group B: Drivers in Odd-Numbered Cars
MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz led the fifteen Group B drivers out for the final 16 minutes of qualifying. Like their counterparts, they spent the opening laps warming tyres and reacquainting themselves with the circuit. Early on, Nicola Lacorte brought out a yellow flag after running deep at Turn 1, though he managed to recover.
Championship leader Rafael Câmara set the early benchmark with a 1:25.635, ahead of Rodin Motorsport duo Callum Voisin (1:25.758) and Tramnitz (1:25.868). With improved track conditions, hopes remained high that someone might challenge Tsolov’s 1:24.882.
Ugo Ugochukwu caused another brief yellow after running off at Turn 1 but rejoined safely. Shortly after, Voisin went top with a 1:25.359, ahead of team-mate Roman Biliński (1:25.463) and Laurens van Hoepen (1:25.565).
With just under four minutes remaining, Race Control black-flagged Lacorte for receiving outside assistance during recovery. Moments later, Brando Badoer crashed into the barriers at Turn 1, triggering a red flag and pausing the session with 3:21 on the clock.
When running resumed, Tramnitz again led the field. However, with cooler tyres, many struggled to improve. As the chequered flag waved, Biliński snatched the session’s fastest time with a 1:25.332, ahead of Voisin. Tramnitz moved to third with a 1:25.425, demoting Câmara to fourth. The Brazilian was also noted for a red flag infringement.
Standings:
- Roman Biliński – 1:25.332
- Callum Voisin
- Tim Tramnitz
- Rafael Câmara*
- Laurens van Hoepen
- Alessandro Giusti
- Ugo Ugochukwu
- Joshua Dufek*
- Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak
- Christian Ho
- James Wharton
- Brando Badoer*
- Nicola Lacorte
- Santiago Ramos
- Nicola Marinangeli
Provisional results after the 2025 Monte Carlo F3 Qualifying
- Nikola Tsolov – 1:24.882
- Roman Biliński – 1:25.332
- Mari Boya
- Callum Voisin
- Noel León
- Tim Tramnitz
- Charlie Wurz
- Rafael Câmara
- Tuukka Taponen
- Laurens van Hoepen
- Martinius Stenshorne
- Alessandro Giusti
- Louis Sharp
- Ugo Ugochukwu
- Noah Strømsted
- Joshua Dufek
- Ivan Domingues
- Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak
- Brad Benavides
- Christian Ho
- Matías Zagazeta
- James Wharton
- Théophile Naël
- Brando Badoer
- Bruno Del Pino
- Nicola Lacorte
- Gerrard Xie
- Santiago Ramos
- James Hedley
- Nicola Marinangeli
With both qualifying groups completed, the grid for the 2025 Monte Carlo F3 Round Feature Race in Monaco was set, subject to final confirmation. Nikola Tsolov held provisional pole, with Roman Biliński alongside him on the front row. However, several incidents remained under investigation, including potential yellow and red flag infringements. As such, the final classification was still subject to change pending the outcome of these reviews.
