The 2025 F3 season began down under in Melbourne, for the Australian Grand Prix, but who left Australia as the weekend’s winners and losers?
With both a dry race and a wet race, crashes, mistakes and thrilling victories all on display, some drivers defied expectations while others fell short.
Winners:
Rafael Câmara
Rafael Câmara left Melbourne as the clear winner from the weekend despite a difficult start. In the Sprint Race, the Brazilian found himself caught up in an incident between James Wharton and Laurens van Hoepen, which took him out of contention. However, he didn’t let the Saturday struggles stop him. Starting on pole for the Feature Race, he showed impressive dominance in the dangerously wet conditions.
Despite multiple safety cars and incidents further down the grid, Câmara consistently managed an impressive lead, finding grip on the slippery track where others could not. His stellar performance as a rookie turned heads as he took the championship lead heading into the second round of the season with 28 points.
Santiago Ramos
Having previously raced in Australia, Santiago Ramos put his experience to the test around Albert Park. Ramos started on pole for the Sprint Race, and despite challenges from Martinius Stenshorne behind, he managed to hold onto the lead.
Though there were incidents across the grid and Stenshorne was putting pressure on the VAR driver, Ramos kept a level head and was rewarded with a maiden victory in Formula 3 in Melbourne.
Roman Biliński
Roman Biliński had a dream debut in Formula 3 during the Australian Grand Prix race weekend. Biliński qualified tenth, which put him in third for the Sprint Race under the reverse grid conditions. He managed a strong start to the race, challenging the likes of Stenshorne ahead.
Biliński closed in on Stenshorne but was thwarted by a late race safety car that led the cars around until the chequered flag. However, even with the safety car, Biliński made history as the first Polish driver on the podium in Formula 3 on his debut. He went on to score points in the Feature Race, making it a successful debut weekend for the Pole.
Théophile Naël
Naël was another driver for whom consistency was key in the Formula 3 opening round. In his rookie season of the series, Naël qualified third in his VAR machinery. In the Sprint Race, he climbed from tenth to seventh.
Then came the Feature Race, where Naël had to brave the dangerous conditions of the pouring rain around Albert Park. While many other rookies struggled to find their footing in such conditions, Naël bravely held onto his third place. With his consistency in the Sprint Race, he finds himself in second in the drivers’ standings after Round 1.
Losers
James Wharton
Returning to home soil for the season opener meant that the pressure for an excellent weekend was on the ART Grand Prix driver. However, the home advantage eluded Wharton as he found himself in an incident in the early laps of the Sprint Race that had him retire from the race.
While he hoped for better chances in the Feature Race, the wet conditions left him struggling. He finished the feature race in 21st, well outside the points, leaving his home Grand Prix disappointed and wanting more. He currently finds himself 29th in the drivers’ standings.
Nikola Tsolov
Tsolov is entering his third season in Formula 3. With two seasons already under his belt, he has more experience than the majority of the grid. In 2024, he managed three wins. But for 2025, he set his sights on the title. His weekend in Australia started decently with an eighth-place finish in the Sprint Race.
However, things quickly took a downturn in the Feature Race. Despite his experience, in the first lap, Tsolov and Voisin collided in the difficult conditions and he found himself out of the race. Currently, Tsolov finds himself 10 points behind his less experienced teammate.
Louis Sharp
Louis Sharp is another driver who came in with high expectations around him after winning the GB3 championship in 2024 and British F4 in 2023. He finished between his two Rodin teammates in qualifying, lining up 15th for both races.
However, when it came to the races, Sharp seemed to fall behind. He ended the sprint race in 18th, which was a far cry from his teammates’ podium. Then in the Feature Race, he continued to struggle, only making up one position. While the other two Rodin cars left the weekend with points, putting them eighth and 13th in the driver’s standings, Sharp is in 20th.
Round 2
While some drivers left fans wanting more, there are still nine more rounds to go in the 2025 Formula 3 season. Over the previous years, the series has been consistently competitive, and there is no doubt that this will continue into this season.
The Formula 3 drivers head to Bahrain next for Round 2 on April 11-13.
