Mari Boya delivered a clinical and patient performance during the 2025 Spielberg F3 Round Sprint Race at the Austrian GP, climbing from 14th on the grid to finish sixth. In doing so, he completed a strong day for Campos Racing, finishing just behind Nikola Tsolov and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak. His intelligent tyre management and timely overtakes helped secure important points at the end of an eventful race.
Strategic mindset from the start
Approaching the 21-lap race with a clear understanding of the challenges, Boya and the Campos team opted for a strategy focused on long-term tyre preservation and measured progress. As the Spaniard noted after the chequered flag, degradation would be a key factor.
“I knew coming into this one that degradation with the Soft compound would be a key factor and there are many places to overtake. So I think we maximised what we could do today. I’m quite happy, so we will work harder for tomorrow to try and get a bit more if it’s possible. The race will be longer, so I am looking forward to it.”
Despite starting from the seventh row, Boya kept his cool amid a frenetic midfield. He gained initial ground as the field spread out and capitalised further when incidents ahead created opportunities.
Climbing through chaos
At the beginning of Lap 13, Boya sat just outside the points-paying positions in P11. However, fortune swung his way when a collision between Charlie Wurz and Brando Badoer removed the former from the race and forced the latter into the pits. That shuffled Boya up to ninth. Moments later, he went on the attack.
“There is a lot of mess especially at the beginning. It’s really hard to make the difference compared to the cars around, because it’s really hard to follow. So I tried to keep my tyres in a good window and then tried to get the benefit at the end of the race. Today it paid off but let’s see how tomorrow goes.”
Just before the Safety Car emerged, the 21-year-old found an opening at Turn 4 and passed Callum Voisin to move into eighth. He would not stop there. As the laps counted down, Boya launched a decisive attack on Rafael Câmara and Martinius Stenshorne to secure sixth place in the F3 Sprint Race of the Austrian GP.
Precision under pressure
The final phase of Boya’s race showcased not only his pace but also his composure under pressure. With several cars ahead struggling for grip, the Spaniard carefully timed his moves. In the scrap for sixth, he had to improvise after a misjudged approach into Turn 3.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” recapped Boya. “I had a really good exit at T1, expected to overtake Stenshorne easily before the braking of T3, but that was not the case.”
He continued, “I think we maximised it at the end. I think I solved the situation quickly, I adapted to it, I lost three places on the entry but then I prepared the exit really well and overtook them into T4. I think I maximised it but for sure it was a bit risky.”
Although the manoeuvre came with risk, Boya’s adaptability allowed him to regain lost ground and secure sixth position by the chequered flag, completing a double-points result for all three Campos drivers.
Building momentum after a milestone week
The result continues what has already been a significant week in Boya’s season. His recent announcement as a new member of the Aston Martin Driver Academy marked a major step forward in his career. Furthermore, his sixth-place finish in the Sprint Race came despite a 2025 F3 Austrian GP Qualifying session that saw him narrowly miss out on the top ten.
“It has been a really good week for me,” he said. “Qualifying yesterday was a bit of bad luck, only two-tenths from P2. Looking at the details on the data with my engineer, we learned a lot, we keep going. It’s never been a track where I am strong in Qualifying, but we learned a lot from yesterday, and for the future I think we will be super competitive.”
“The races, I knew I would be strong, as a team as well, so tomorrow I am looking for it and let’s see. I will try to keep it clean at the beginning and make all the places at the end.”
With a strong race-day track record and a positive trend since the start of the European season, Boya will be one to watch in Sunday’s F3 Austrian GP Feature Race. As Campos Racing continues to show front-running pace across all three cars, the Spanish squad may yet be primed for another big result in Austria.
