After a strong performance in F3 qualifying session at the 2025 Australian GP at Albert Park in Melbourne, Trident’s Rafael Câmara emerged as a favourite to take the win at the first Feature Race and round of the season.
Impressively, the Brazilian driver did not disappoint, dominating the race to claim his maiden F3 win, ahead of his teammate Noah Strømsted and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Théophile Naël who rounded out the podium in P3.
Trident lock out the front row
After an excellent performance in Friday’s F3 Qualifying session at the 2025 Australian GP, Trident’s Rafael Câmara, started the opening feature race of 2025 from pole position, alongside teammate Noah Strømsted. After both retiring from Saturday’s Sprint Race, the Trident duo entered Sunday’s Feature determined to bounce back, maximize their results, and secure crucial points for their team.
Sprint Race winner Ramos starting on Row 6
Their teammate, Charlie Wurz, who also retired from the Sprint race, started the race two rows behind in P6, behind Van Amersfoort Racing’s Théophile Naël and AIX Racing’s Nikita Bedrin in P3 and P4, and alongside MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz in P5.
Campos Racing’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and PREMA Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu started for the fourth to, ahead of Sprint Race podium finishers Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne (P2) and Roman Bilinski (P3) in P9 and P10 on the Feature Race starting grid. Matías Zagazeta started P11, alongside Van Amersfoort Racing’s Santiago Ramos who claimed his maiden F3 win in Saturday’s F3 Sprint Race at the Australian GP.
The complete Melbourne Feature Race starting grid
Hitech TGR’s Joshua Dufek started P13, two rows behind his teammate Stenshorne, and alongside MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti (P14), with Rodin Motorsport’s Louis Sharp and Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov on the eighth row in P15 and P16 respectively. Behind them, ART Grand Prix’s Laurens van Hoepen (P17), Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin (P18), and PREMA Racing’s Noel León (P19) and AIX Racing’s Javier Sagrera rounded out the top 20.
Leading the last ten drivers on the grid was DAMS Lucas Oil’s Christian Ho, who started from P21, alongside Campos Racing’s Mari Boya in P22, and ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Tuukka Taponen in P23 and Hitech TGR’s Gerrard Xie in P24.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Ivan Domingues started P25, alongside James Wharton, who received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision during Saturday’s Sprint. Since Wharton retired before serving his penalty, officials converted it to a five-place grid drop, demoting him to P26 for the Feature Race.
AIX Racing’s Nicola Marinangeli and PREMA Racing’s Brando Badoer filled out the second-to-last row of the grid. They started ahead of MP Motorsport’s Bruno del Pino and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Nicola Lacorte who started the race from the back of the grid, having failed to set a suitable qualifying time.
A wet start to the Feature Race
After a delayed start, the Safety Car led all 30 drivers around the circuit for the formation lap. With the track soaked from torrential rain, the field began the race on wet tires. Given that many drivers lacked experience both in Melbourne and in such challenging conditions, the race promised plenty of excitement—especially on a circuit as tricky as Albert Park.
As the drivers set off on the initial formation lap, Trident informed Noah Strømsted that they would complete three laps behind the Safety Car before beginning with a rolling start. In the heavy rain, visibility quickly became a major challenge, with massive amounts of spray kicked up as the drivers followed the Safety Car around the track.
Following an additional formation lap, race control confirmed that the Feature Race would officially begin with a rolling start. As the Safety Car lights went out, Câmara reacted brilliantly, getting an excellent launch and immediately pulling away from his struggling teammate, Strømsted. While Câmara disappeared into the distance, Strømsted focused on maintaining P2. Further back, Stenshorne made a decisive move, overtaking Bilinski to claim P9.
Tsolov and Vosin bring out an early Safety Car
Early chaos erupted at the back of the grid as Tsolov and Voisin collided at Turn 10, sending both cars into the grass. The incident prompted the return of the Safety Car, neutralizing the race to allow marshals to recover the stricken vehicles. Voisin made an attempt to rejoin the track but struggled against the muddy conditions and was ultimately unable to continue. Despite their disappointment at an early exit, both drivers walked away from the incident unscathed.
After several laps under Safety Car conditions, racing resumed on Lap 5. After an impressive start to the race, race leader Câmara enjoyed an impressive launch, once again building up a lead between himself and his teammate Strømsted, who though better, could not keep on his teammate’s tail. Near the midfield, Ramos spun, and though he recovered, he fell to P17 and then to P18 after losing position to Sagrera.
Câmara charges ahead of the pack
By Lap 7, Câmara had pulled over 2.2 seconds ahead of his teammate, Strømsted, who had also created a comfortable gap to Naël. After fending off a challenge from Bedrin following the restart, Naël settled into P3, maintaining a one-second advantage over Bedrin in P4.
On Lap 8, a fierce battle unfolded between the two McLaren-liveried cars, as Stenshorne overtook Ugochukwu for P6. However, Ugochukwu stayed close behind, patiently waiting for the right moment to reclaim his position.
With the wet conditions making grip a significant challenge, both Wurz and Sharp ran off track. Fortunately, like Ramos earlier in the race, they managed to rejoin safely without major incident.
Câmara well ahead of the pack
After securing a P3 finish in the Sprint Race at the Australian GP, Bilinski overtook Ugochukwu for P9 on Lap 10 of the Feature Race. The American driver ran too deep at Turn 11, leaving himself vulnerable and unable to defend his position effectively.
By Lap 11, Câmara had extended his lead to over four seconds ahead of his teammate, pulling away as the rain intensified. Meanwhile, in the midfield, contact between Giusti and Zagazeta sent Giusti into a spin. Although he safely rejoined the track, he dropped to P27. Zagazeta, despite sustaining some damage, continued in P14. However, the Stewards later handed him a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.
On Lap 12, a battle between Stenshorne and Bilinski emerged, with the former holding on to his position despite a close call. Though unable to get past, Bilinski kept himself in contention, remaining within a second of his teammate.
Ho brings out second Safety Car
Unfortunately, the Safety Car returned after Ho crashed into the barriers at the exit of Turn 6. This setback hurt Câmara, who had built a nearly five-second gap over Strømsted and may have overused his tyres in the process. However, as the rain intensified and marshals worked to recover Ho’s stricken car and clean up the track, it remained unclear whether tyre wear would become a major issue for the Brazilian driver.
With worsening conditions, the race was red-flagged on Lap 18, handing Câmara his first win of the season.
Full Australian GP F3 Feature Race results:
- Rafael Câmara
- Noah Strømsted
- Théophile Naël
- Nikita Bedrin
- Tim Tramnitz
- Charlie Wurz
- Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak
- Martinius Stenshorne
- Roman Bilinski
- Ugo Ugochukwu
- Joshua Dufek
- Laurens van Hoepen
- Noel León
- Matías Zagazeta
- Louis Sharp
- Javier Sagrera
- Santiago Ramos
- Mari Boya
- Gerrard Xie
- Ivan Domingues
- Tuukka Taponen
- James Wharton
- Bruno del Pino
- Nicola Lacorte
- Alessandro Giusti
- Brando Badoer
- Nicola Marinangeli
- Christian Ho (retired)
- Nikola Tsolov (retired)
- Callum Voisin (retired)
