With two flawless comebacks in both races held at the Red Bull Ring, Boya was undoubtedly one of the standout performers in Austria, climbing to the podium on Sunday and setting the fastest lap in the process. Tsolov also finished third in Saturday’s sprint race and secured pole position for Sunday’s feature race. Inthraphuvasak, with a fourth place, narrowly missed out on the podium in the sprint
The second half of the 2025 FIA Formula 3 season kicked off this weekend at the Red Bull Ring under scorching summer conditions. Campos Racing collected a valuable haul in Austria: two podiums, one pole position, one fastest lap, and all three drivers scoring points. Mari Boya, Nikola Tsolov and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak all performed at a high level in Spielberg, showcasing both the competitiveness of Campos Racing’s F3 machinery and the strong form of the drivers as the crucial summer stretch gets underway. That said, the team was left with a bittersweet feeling after Tsolov’s dominant and undisputed on-track victory on Sunday could not be converted into points. Post-race scrutineering revealed an irregular wear on the undertray of his car caused by abnormal friction, meaning it did not meet the minimum thickness requirement and resulted in exclusion. Nevertheless, the entire team is heading into the upcoming rounds with maximum strength and determination.
Friday’s free practice session, interrupted by two red flags, already saw Tsolov topping the timesheets with a lap of 1m22.015s, beating title rival Rafael Câmara by a tenth and a half. Campos Racing’s promising start was confirmed by Boya’s fifth-fastest time of 1m22.581s and Inthraphuvasak’s eighth with a personal best of 1m22.787s.
Later in the afternoon, under track temperatures soaring above 36°C, qualifying got underway. Tsolov immediately laid down a benchmark with a lap of 1m21.282s, which provisionally put him on pole. But there was still room for improvement – and the "Bulgarian Lion" delivered. Despite Câmara’s efforts to snatch pole, Tsolov strung together two perfect laps: first becoming the only driver to dip below 1m21s with a time of 1m20.927s, and then matching it on his next flyer. The result earned him two extra points. Inthraphuvasak was one of the few other drivers to also dip into the 1m20s, with a 1m20.965s that secured him fifth on the grid. Boya, meanwhile, struggled to piece together his best sectors on a single lap due to the ever-present traffic in Spielberg. His best effort, a 1m21.139s, left him 14th – outside the top-12 and, therefore, unable to benefit from the reverse grid pole for Saturday. A heroic charge through the field awaited him.
Saturday morning’s 21-lap sprint race was a fruitful one for all three Campos Racing drivers, despite the reverse grid format. Once the lights went out, Tsolov gained three spots to slot into ninth ahead of Inthraphuvasak. Boya also picked up two positions before a third-lap incident brought out the safety car, sidelining two cars. When the race resumed, Tsolov overtook Callum Voisin and tucked in behind Câmara. On lap nine, the Brazilian could do little to stop Tsolov from overtaking him around the outside of Turn 6 in a superb move. Midway through the race, Tsolov was already up to sixth, followed closely by Inthraphuvasak in seventh. Another safety car came out shortly after a collision between Charlie Wurz and Brando Badoer, allowing all Campos drivers to gain two more positions. The restart, with three laps remaining, was packed with drama. Tsolov attacked Ugo Ugochukwu while Inthraphuvasak waited for an opening. At the end of the straight, Ugochukwu ran wide and rejoined ahead of Tsolov without giving the position back. Though he crossed the line third, a ten-second penalty from the stewards for this move handed Tsolov the final podium spot – just ahead of Inthraphuvasak. Boya, after a spectacular final few laps filled with overtakes, finished fifth.
Everything was set for a Sunday showdown in the 26-lap feature race. From pole, Tsolov launched perfectly ahead of Brad Benavides. Inthraphuvasak, on the other hand, had a poor getaway – not stalling, but losing several positions. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Boya, who was already up to ninth after lap one. With battles unfolding behind him, Tsolov opened up a gap and stayed out of DRS range. Even though Câmara moved up to second, Tsolov controlled the pace with authority. Boya continued his charge, passing Voisin on lap 13 to take seventh. Inthraphuvasak, stuck in the midfield, found it much harder to make progress. The second half of the race proved decisive. Câmara’s tires gave up in his bid to catch Tsolov and he began to drop back. Meanwhile, Tsolov was already five seconds clear of Martinius Stenshorne by lap 19. Boya kept making moves – overtaking Noah Stromsted on lap 20 and Ugochukwu shortly after. Then he passed Câmara with two laps to go and closed in on Tim Tramnitz. At the checkered flag, Tsolov crossed the line with more than six seconds in hand after dominating the race from start to finish. Sadly, his aforementioned disqualification meant he lost a deserved win. With Tsolov out, Boya was promoted to third – his second podium of the season – and claimed the bonus point for fastest lap. Inthraphuvasak, hampered by the start, finished 15th.
After twelve races, Tsolov is third in the overall standings with 89 points. Boya makes a significant leap to sixth with 58 points to his name. Inthraphuvasak lies 15th with 22 points. In the teams’ standings, Campos Racing remains second with 169 points.
There’s no time to rest, as the seventh round of the season takes place this coming weekend at Silverstone – another venue that promises to be a crucial chapter in the championship battle.
Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 3): “Good weekend overall with a lot of positives. Very fast from the first lap basically being P1 every lap since free practice and we then got pole position again. Amazing sprint race starting P12 to finish P3, so then we knew we had the pace for Sunday. I started the race and led every single lap pulled a big gap with more than six seconds to win the race. Technical stuff outside our control and, unfortunately, we got disqualified. But nevertheless, I think there's so many positives to take and it's nothing is over yet. Although it's a big setback in the championship. We are looking forward to Silverstone and repeating similar things during the weekend.”
Mari Boya (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 3): "A positive weekend, especially in terms of race pace, at the Red Bull Ring. Qualifying was very close, with minimal gaps, and that was probably the reason why we weren’t quite in the fight for victory. Even so, I’m very happy with how things went and with the work done by Campos Racing. It was also a great way to start my journey as an Aston Martin Academy driver. Now fully focused on Silverstone."
