Laurens van Hoepen admitted that the unique nature of Qualifying at the 2025 Monza F3 Round left him satisfied with a top 12 finish, even if he believed there was more potential in himself and his ART Grand Prix car. For the Dutch driver, who has been chasing a breakthrough victory in F3, the result was a mixture of relief and quiet optimism.
A chaotic Qualifying session
The session itself followed a familiar pattern at Monza. Van Hoepen ran in Group A and, like the majority of his rivals, chose not to head out at the beginning of the session. Instead, he left the pitlane with less than five minutes remaining, aiming to maximise the slipstream opportunities down the long straights. The downside of this strategy became evident almost immediately. The huge train of cars led to significant jostling for position, with several drivers forced to abandon their push laps or unable to start a second attempt before the chequered flag.
For everyone outside of Alessandro Giusti, Tim Tramnitz and Callum Voisin, the traffic and timing prevented them from fitting in a second run. That meant van Hoepen only had a single attempt to show his pace. Under pressure, he delivered, putting together a clean 1:38.988 lap which placed him sixth in Group A. His time was just 0.375 seconds off the top effort of Ugo Ugochukwu, but it was not enough to match the quicker laps that would later come from Group B.
Van Hoepen frustrated despite top 12 finish
As a result, van Hoepen secured P12 on the overall grid for Sunday’s Feature Race, but more importantly, he will line up on reverse grid pole for Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Reflecting on the session, he struck a pragmatic tone: “It’s okay because we are still in the top 12. I think there was a little bit more in there, but still overall because it’s Monza I am content with the result. It’s not because I think it’s where we could have been, it’s just because there was so much chaos that it should be fine.”
His words reflected the frustration felt by many drivers. At Monza, where the slipstream effect can be worth up to half a second per lap, qualifying becomes less about outright car performance and more about timing, positioning, and luck.
The battle for slipstream
Slipstreaming has always defined Qualifying at Monza, and 2024 proved no different. The long straights and heavy braking zones reward those who can tuck in behind a rival and carry the extra speed down the straights. The difficulty, however, lies in finding a driver willing to lead the pack.
Van Hoepen summed up the situation: “In Qualifying, everyone was finding a tow and nobody wants to go and pull everybody, it’s always like that here.”
He added that the situation was not unique to him but common to almost all of Group A: “It’s the same for everyone, or at least for 80% in my group. You just have to deal with it and do the best you can.”
The chaos on track underscored his point. Cars crawled through the Parabolica in the build-up to flying laps, desperate not to give others an advantage while risking their own chances of completing a timed run. It was a delicate balancing act, and one that caught out several big names.
Van Hoepen’s opportunity
Despite the frustrations, van Hoepen finds himself in an enviable position heading into the Sprint Race. Having already achieved four podium finishes in F3, he is still searching for his first win. Saturday morning could finally provide the chance.
When asked directly about whether he was targeting victory, his response was immediate and unambiguous: “Yes, for sure.”
His confidence, though, came tempered with realism. The ART Grand Prix driver acknowledged that his car might not be the strongest in Monza’s straight-line battles: “I mean we are not the strongest in the straights. But still, I feel like we can do a good job in both races, especially with everything that happens around here.”
His words speak to the unpredictable nature of Monza. With its tight braking zones into the Rettifilo and Roggia chicanes, combined with the constant drafting and re-passing along the straights, races at Monza often descend into chaotic exchanges of position. For a driver starting at the front of the field, that unpredictability can be both a blessing and a curse.
The wider Qualifying picture
While van Hoepen celebrated his chance to lead the field away in the Sprint, Brad Benavides stole the headlines in Group B. The AIX Racing driver delivered a stunning final lap of 1:38.120, taking his second Aramco Pole Position Award of the season. He edged out PREMA Racing’s Noel León by 0.262 seconds, while Ugochukwu, who had been fastest in Group A with a 1:38.613, secured a place alongside Benavides on the front row for Sunday’s Feature Race.
Group A had earlier seen Rafael Câmara briefly on top with a 1:38.520, only for his lap to be deleted due to track limits. That left Ugochukwu to claim the group’s best time, ahead of Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, Roman Bilinski and Alessandro Giusti. Van Hoepen slotted into sixth in the group, ahead of Callum Voisin, who was unable to benefit from a second push lap.
In Group B, Noah Strømsted, Mari Boya, Charlie Wurz and Tuukka Taponen all took turns on provisional pole before Benavides delivered the decisive lap. Behind León, Nikola Tsolov and Matías Zagazeta also featured strongly, while Stenshorne joined van Hoepen on the front row for the Sprint by qualifying sixth in his group.
Looking ahead to the Sprint Race
The Sprint Race is scheduled to begin at 09:15 local time on Saturday. Van Hoepen will start from pole position, with Martinius Stenshorne alongside him. With his rivals bunched up behind, including drivers from PREMA and AIX who showed strong pace in Qualifying, he will need a clean getaway and clever racecraft to convert the opportunity into a maiden victory.
While Benavides, Ugochukwu and León battle for supremacy in Sunday’s Feature Race, Saturday belongs to those with the chance to shine on the reverse grid. For van Hoepen, it is more than just another race start — it is a chance to take a long-awaited first win in F3 and put himself firmly on the radar as one of the championship’s rising stars.
