The Bulgarian was the standout performer in Saturday’s race, claiming victory after overtaking all of his rivals. Boya, following a challenging qualifying session, bounced back by finishing in the points in Sunday’s race. Inthraphuvasak endured a difficult weekend, hampered by his result in Friday’s qualifying session
Campos Racing and their driver Nikola Tsolov opened their 2025 victory tally by winning the first of the FIA Formula 3 races held this past weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit. The Bulgarian managed the race well, marked by high temperatures, to cross the finish line first in his Red Bull-liveried F3 car. Tsolov also secured a solid points haul on Sunday with a fifth-place finish. Mari Boya had everything against him after a tough Friday, but the Spaniard recovered impressively to finish in the points on Sunday. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak was less fortunate—despite showing strong race pace, he was kept out of the points-paying positions due to various circumstances.
In the only free practice session, held on Friday morning, Tsolov was the fastest Campos Racing driver, placing second on the time sheets with a lap of 1m51.111s. Boya and Inthraphuvasak posted times of 1m51.520s and 1m51.769s, respectively. The qualifying session, held in the afternoon during peak heat, caught the Campos Racing drivers off guard, as the track conditions differed significantly from recent testing. Tsolov was again the best of the Campos trio, clocking a 1m49.898s lap that earned him eighth on the grid. Inthraphuvasak posted a 1m50.217s to qualify 17th, while Boya’s 1m50.380s placed him 20th.
Saturday’s 19-lap sprint race saw Tsolov line up fifth on the reversed grid. When the lights went out, the Bulgarian gained a position by overtaking Alessandro Giusti at the start. Boya and Inthraphuvasak were less fortunate, both having to pit due to contact in the opening stages. Meanwhile, Tsolov went on the attack, passing Martinius Stenshorne on lap four to take third. Shortly afterward, the safety car made its first appearance. On the restart, Tsolov set his sights on Joshua Dufek, whom he passed with a flawless move. From that point on, only Freddie Slater stood between him and victory. On lap 10, Tsolov engaged in a side-by-side battle with Slater over several corners. It wasn’t until the next lap that he took the lead, overtaking him at the end of the main straight. With all drivers starting to experience tire degradation, another safety car came out on lap 16. On the final restart, Tsolov expertly held off Slater’s attempts to retake the lead and crossed the finish line as race winner. Boya made up several positions to finish 15th, three places ahead of Inthraphuvasak.
Sunday’s 22-lap feature race featured another strong showing from the Campos Racing drivers. All three avoided incidents at the start and kept their cars intact for the rest of the race. Tsolov overtook Bruno del Pino on lap four, followed shortly by Boya, who passed Stenshorne and began chasing the top ten. Inthraphuvasak also put on a show, engaging in an exciting battle with Laurens Van Hoepen. At the front, Tsolov gained more ground by overtaking Christian Ho and later Noah Stromsted. Boya followed a similar path, getting past Noel León and Brandon Badoer. In the final laps, with tires on their last legs, Tsolov claimed fifth place by overtaking Charlie Wurz. The Bulgarian finished with impressive pace to secure that position. Boya mounted a late charge to climb to eighth, having overtaken Ho, del Pino, and Wurz. Inthraphuvasak narrowly missed the points, but a ten-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage dropped him to 16th.
After the first two rounds of the season, Tsolov sits fifth in the drivers’ standings with 23 points. Inthraphuvasak is tenth with 13 points. In the teams’ championship, Campos Racing holds third place with 40 points.
The championship now takes a brief break before returning on European soil for the weekend of May 17–18 in Imola, the first of eight rounds on the continent.
Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing driver in FIA Formula 3): “It was a good weekend overall, scoring twenty points for the championship and moving up in the standings. With many weekends like this, we’ll be at the top. We definitely need to work on qualifying because I think our race setup guarantees us incredible pace. Winning the sprint race from fifth was fantastic. Despite having to use used tires on Sunday, we managed to fight back, and I think we maximized our chances as the best car without fresh rubber.”
Mari Boya (Campos Racing driver in FIA Formula 3): “It was a weekend I didn’t expect. Testing went really well, but the track conditions were different, and we couldn’t adapt for qualifying. We kept working, and in the races we showed great pace. Now it’s time to reflect and come back stronger for the European leg.”
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (Campos Racing driver in FIA Formula 3): “Tough weekend in Bahrain. So much potential but wasnt at the right place at the right time. However, the team and I have shown that the speed is up there to fight at the front end, moving through the field in both races. Full focus on Imola where ill try to put everything together”
Photos: © Dutch Photo Agency
