Fighting his way to P3 in the F3 Hungarian GP Sprint Race, Charlie Wurz has secured himself a podium in the second consecutive race weekend. After his podium in Spa-Francorchamps, back to back podium scoring weekends is a huge improvement in his 2025 campaign.
Starting from P7 for the Sprint Race, a podium finish wasn’t necessarily something we expected. After chaos between many drivers, which resulted in multiple Safety Cars, this podium was made possible. Wurz spoke to media outlets including Pit Debrief in reflection of today’s events.
Back to back podium scoring weekends for Wurz
With three out of the four sessions across the F3 Hungarian GP weekend complete, Charlie Wurz believes he and Trident have been quite quick. The speed and performance exhibited this weekend, alongside Wurz’ ability to save his tyres, has brought this podium into fruition.
This is Wurz’ second consecutive weekend to have scored a podium, after taking home P3 in the Belgian Sprint Race. With Trident making large strides forward with performance, Wurz was in a position to be overtaking many cars. With Turn 1 being the most expected place for an overtake, the Austrian driver explained his attempt to “invent a few different places to overtake”.
“Yeah, I mean, I think, again, it was really well executed. I managed to save quite a lot of the tyres at the beginning, and then at the end, really push and go for it. So I’m super happy with how we executed the race and managed it. So I think that was really positive, and to get two podiums, well, two races in a row, is super positive. And I think we’re making great strides forward.
“And really, I think this weekend, we’ve been really fast. Messed up the last lap in Qualifying, but nonetheless, I think the pace has been really strong. So to finish on the podium, it is nice. And it was not easy, because to overtake into T1, everyone is expecting that. So I tried to invent a few different places to overtake, which I managed to pull off.
“So I’m super happy with that, and yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.”
Improvements throughout the season to reach the current performance
During this press conference, a representative from Pit Debrief questioned Wurz on his improvement of performance throughout the season. With regular strong performances in Qualifying, Wurz believes the pace has always been there. These sessions become incredibly tight, with a grid of talented drivers.
The Austrian has reflected on the work he and Trident have put in throughout the season. This largely relies on his efforts, and not making mistakes. Slowly, Wurz has found more performance within the car, and believes even with mistake he is able to reach these quality performances regularly.
In comparison to his season last year, Wurz has found his improvement in personal performance to be greatly noticeable. Now driving at what he feels to be a higher level, he remains incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to develop, and to driver in Formula 3 machinery. At the end of the day, this is what he is here for.
“I feel like this season, pretty much every Quali, we’ve been able to be in the top three. Of course, it’s always tight, so I think a lot of drivers will maybe say the same. But I felt really that we have good pace. Especially the last few rounds, I’ve really worked, I’ve been working so hard with the team to try and do the best that I can.
“I think we’ve been able to find a bit more performance. And then I can be here, even with mistakes, be in these positions. So I think that’s really positive, and just feeling like we’re making steps forward. I feel just that I’m driving at a much, much higher level than I was last year, and so super grateful to the team that have been able to improve my driving.
“That’s what I’m here for in the end. Racing F3. And I think I’ve made great steps forward.”
A last minute lunge to secure P3
Securing the final podium position was all thanks to a late race lunge to overtake James Hedley. Wurz found himself ready to overtake Hedley, moments before Safety Car conditions began—this pushing back his overtaking opportunity. Despite graining in his front left, Wurz perfected his restart, soon overtaking Hedley.
“Yeah, I mean, I always plan to try and overtake the car in front. I managed to get a really good, I mean, I had also grading on the front left, so we knew, I was expecting the last corner on the restart to be quite tough. But I managed it quite well.
And I had a good exit and managed to get down the inside of Hedley. So yeah, super happy with that. And once I got that move done, I was a bit more relaxed in the last lap. And it was a nice way to finish the race.”
Tyre wear concerns ahead of the Feature Race
With a new tyre allocation for this weekend after previous hard and soft allocations, no one was certain how the medium tyre would behave. After running today, teams and drivers have a slightly better understanding, although questions still remain on how the tyres will perform during the longer Feature Race. Wurz and Trident, along with presumably most of the grid, will fine tune their cars, in order to best counteract the effects of the tyre degradation they may face.
Starting the Feature Race and single position higher than he did today, the main goal remains in gaining position. The Hungaroring is notoriously hard to overtake on, but Wurz is confident that with good tyre management, overtaking won’t be a major issue.
“I think everyone will fine-tune their cars, and it’ll be a bit more of a difficult race to overtake, with everyone making a bit more steps forward. But I think, again, we can fine-tune a bit more, and going into the race, it was, of course, a bit of an unknown how the tyres will deg. But now we know. We have an idea and we can improve that.
“And now, yeah, starting from P6, so one position higher than today, I think the goal is to make some positions. And on a track that’s difficult to overtake, if you still manage the tyres really well, you can overtake and make some positions. So that’s the goal, is to manage well and try to keep on top of the tyres and the situation around you.”
Safety Cars brought frustration
A Safety Car appearance ruined a key opportunity for Wurz to overtake Hedley, although this didn’t deter him. The Austrian got a great restart, and soon overtook the AIX Racing driver. Despite getting past Hedley, there wasn’t enough time left in the Sprint Race to catch the drivers ahead.
Even though he couldn’t overtake Ugo Ugochukwu, or Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, Wurz still labels this as a positive end to the race. Strong pace was found, and is now ready to take into the Feature Race.
“Today, they were quite far in front. So I’m super happy with the race. I think we maximised it. I was a bit unhappy when the safety car came out because I was pretty much about to overtake Hedley. So I was a bit frustrated with that, but in the end, I managed to get the move done and the other two were a bit too far up the road.
“But once I overtook Hedley on the last lap, I had strong pace and I closed the gap to them. So I think with more laps tomorrow, I think that’s just positive that at the end of the race, we had a really good pace. So looking forward to that.”
Two Safety Cars adding extra challenge
As well as the Safety Car that effected the Austrian’s overtake on Hedley, there was a prior Safety Car that added further challenge. The first Safety Car was especially tough for Wurz, as he struggled to keep his tyre’s in the perfect window.
On top of this, the exit of the final corner was also proving difficult. This resulted in him being overtaken by Ugo Ugochukwu, who ultimately beat him out to P2. The second Safety Car was far more manageable.
Wurz acknowledges that Safety Cars are a big part of Formula 3, and mastering them today, only assists him ahead of tomorrow. So long as he is able to keep his tyres in a good window, overtakes will surely follow.
“Safety car restarts weren’t always easy, especially the last corner, because with the tyres, to keep them in a good window is not easy. So I was struggling a bit the last corner to get a good exit. That’s why Ugo got me on the first restart. But then the second one, I managed a bit better, and I managed to get Hedley in return.
“So I think, yeah, the safety cars are part of F3, and we’re quite used to them. So I don’t expect any different for tomorrow either. And it’s just about keeping the tyres in a good window and having them ready to push for the first half and try to go for some moves.”
The approach to the final two Championship rounds
In comparison to the season’s commencement, Wurz has greatly improved as a driver. Despite the misfortune he has faced, his goal for the season has always been to simply do his best. That is certainly what he has done.
“My goal, I mean, this season, I think we’ve just been a bit unlucky. I think the pace has been strong. But as well, every round, we’ve seemed to make steps forward and improve, and I feel like I’m driving at a very high level at the moment. So in the end, my aim is to do the best I can in the races and feel when I leave from a race weekend that I did the maximum that I could. And that’s the aim at the moment.”
With so much improvement shown, it’s hard to imagine that the season ends next round in Monza. As Wurz reaches his peak performance, it is safe to say he would rather the season not be ending so soon. His pace and performance has grown stronger in each round, and all that is left to do, is maximise his performance in Monza.
“I feel like we’re getting a really good momentum at the moment. My pace has been getting stronger and stronger every round. I feel really in a really good position, but in the end, I just have to try and maximise the races that we have, and do the best I can.”
