German driver Tim Tramnitz secured a solid fifth-place finish in the Monaco GP’s F3 Feature Race, maintaining his championship challenge as rival Nikola Tsolov claimed a record-breaking fifth victory of the season.
The MP Motorsport driver crossed the line in fifth position after a challenging Monaco weekend that saw Bulgarian sensation Tsolov cruise to his fifth F3 win, breaking the all-time record for most victories in a single Formula 3 season. With Roman Bilinski second and Mari Boya completing a Campos 1-3, Tramnitz found himself watching from the midfield as his championship rival extended his advantage.
Starting from further down the grid, Tramnitz was unable to capitalise on the two late Safety Car periods that bunched up the field, finishing behind Callum Voisin in fourth and ahead of Laurens van Hoepen in sixth. The result leaves him with work to do in the championship standings as the season approaches its midpoint.
Eyes on improving qualifying after the F3 Monaco GP
Speaking to the media, including Pit Debrief, ahead of the Spanish GP, which will conclude the current triple-header that began in Imola, Tramnitz acknowledged the challenges his team has faced but expressed optimism about recent improvements in qualifying performance.
“For me, it’s for sure mainly the qualifying,” Tramnitz explained when asked by Pit Debrief about the key lessons from the last two races. “I think we can take a lot of confidence away after the qualifying in Monaco. So I think what we managed to build up through the last two rounds is quite good. We were very consistent in both weekends. And yeah, hopefully we can have the same approach in qualifying as in Monaco. And yeah, then we should also start on Sunday a bit further up the front, which is very important for us.”
The German driver’s comments highlight what has been a recurring theme this season – strong race pace undermined by qualifying struggles. His fifth-place finish in Monaco, whilst respectable, came after starting from a position that made a podium challenge virtually impossible on the notoriously difficult-to-overtake Monaco circuit.
The Championship fight intensifies
Currently sitting first or second in the championship standings alongside Rafael Câmara, Tramnitz admitted that the team’s early-season form hasn’t met expectations, despite their strong championship position.
Rafa remains at the head of the table as we touchdown in Barcelona 🇪🇸#F3 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/5XJkEN0UWN
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“I think we can say that we weren’t so happy actually with the start of the year,” he reflected. “As we always said, some good recoveries in the races, but we weren’t very strong in qualifying so far. And yeah, actually looking at the gap, it’s got a bit closer through Monaco. So like Rafa said, the consistency is very important and for sure a key factor for us will be to improve the qualifying on the Fridays to start higher up on Sunday when you score the big points.”
The championship battle has intensified following Tsolov’s dominant Monaco performance, with the Campos driver now establishing himself as a formidable force in the title fight. However, Tramnitz remains philosophical about the challenge ahead, acknowledging that Formula 3’s unpredictable nature means no driver can be ruled out.
“I think in the end, you can’t write off anyone in F3 because things can change pretty quickly,” he said when asked by Pit Debrief about the changing dynamics of the title fight. “So, yeah, for sure. I mean, there are also other drivers you kind of need to beat to fight for the title. But in the end, the only thing you can do is maximise your weekends and score the most points you can.”
The Spanish GP
With the Spanish GP set to provide another crucial points-scoring opportunity, Tramnitz will be hoping that the qualifying improvements shown in the F3 Monaco GP, can translate into a stronger starting position at Barcelona. On a circuit where overtaking opportunities are more plentiful than Monaco, a good qualifying performance could be the key to mounting a serious championship response.
