The 2025 FIA F3 Spanish GP Sprint Race in Barcelona concluded with stewards issuing notable penalties that reshaped the finishing order and altered the grid for the upcoming Feature Race. The stewards penalised MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz and PREMA Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu for separate infractions, though neither driver lost championship points as a result.
Tim Tramnitz penalised for opening lap collision
Tim Tramnitz will serve a three-place grid penalty in the Feature Race after causing a collision on the opening lap of the Sprint. Attempting an ambitious manoeuvre around the outside of Turn 1, Tramnitz’s Car 17 came into contact with Martinius Stenshorne’s Car 14 at the apex of Turn 2. This contact also triggered a secondary incident involving Roman Bilinski’s Car 26.
Upon review, the Stewards determined that Tramnitz had not fulfilled the criteria for a legitimate overtaking attempt. Specifically, he failed to position his front axle ahead of Car 14 at the apex of Turn 1 and, as such, was not entitled to racing room into Turn 2. Although the presence of Car 25 (Bilinski) was noted as a mitigating circumstance, the Stewards deemed Tramnitz wholly at fault under Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2 d) of the 2025 International Sporting Code.
As a result, Tramnitz will drop three places on the starting grid for the Feature Race. The Stewards also assessed two penalty points to his licence. Importantly, Tramnitz did not finish the Sprint Race due to retiring from the incident, so he did not lose or forfeit any points.
Ugo Ugochukwu receives time penalty for track limits violation
The Stewards also issued Ugo Ugochukwu a 10-second time penalty for gaining a lasting advantage after leaving the track. The incident occurred when Car 3 went off at Turn 2 and re-joined at Turn 3 via the route stipulated in the Race Director’s Event Notes. In doing so, Ugochukwu overtook Cars 10 (Mari Boya), 31 (Christian Ho), and 6 (Charlie Wurz).
Although he relinquished one position to Boya shortly thereafter, he failed to return the other two positions. The Stewards reviewed video footage, marshalling data, and heard from both Ugochukwu and his team. While the driver believed he had re-established his correct position relative to Car 1 (Brando Badoer), who had since overtaken Ho and Wurz, the Stewards ruled that Ugochukwu retained positions gained unlawfully and therefore breached Article 27.3 of the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Sporting Regulations.
The Stewards applied the standard 10-second penalty, which dropped Ugo Ugochukwu from 17th to 22nd in the final classification. However, since he finished outside the points in 17th, the penalty did not affect his championship score.
