Boya, Montoya, and Goethe secured points finishes in both FIA Formula 3 races held this past weekend in Australia. An excellent collective performance by the team showcasing potential for future races
The second round of the FIA Formula 3 season, held in the Australian Antipodes at the Albert Park Circuit, yielded predominantly positive results for Campos Racing and its drivers. Mari Boya, Sebas Montoya, and Oliver Goethe finished in point-scoring positions in both races, demonstrating the strength of the trio representing Campos Racing and hinting at the magnificent results yet to come in future races.
On Friday, track activity commenced with the morning free practice session. In this session, Boya was the fastest among Campos Racing drivers with a time of 1m34.331s, closely followed by Goethe, who clocked a time of 1m34.334s. Montoya, on the other hand, recorded a time of 1m34.726s in his initial outing on the Australian tarmac. The qualifying session, as is often the case in Melbourne, proved challenging due to the traffic of 30 cars on track and yellow flags. Ultimately, Catalan driver Boya secured sixth place in qualifying with a time of 1m33.571s. Meanwhile, Goethe posted a time of 1m33.767s, earning him ninth place on the timesheets. Montoya, despite setting a time of 1m34.323s, ended up in 15th place, but with a sense that he had race pace for much more ambitious goals.
On Saturday, in the sprint race scheduled for 20 laps, Campos Racing drivers avoided any incidents in the opening stages. After the first lap, Goethe was fourth, with Boya just two places behind. Montoya had also begun his recovery in the standings. At the front of the race, positions were fiercely contested. After six laps, Boya and Goethe were fifth and sixth respectively, while Montoya was already on the cusp of points in eleventh place. Midway through the race, as tire wear began to take its toll, positions began to solidify. Boya was running in fourth place, with Goethe completing the top five. By then, Montoya had climbed to ninth, overtaking Dino Beganovic and Nikita Bedrin. However, on lap 13, the safety car was deployed, somewhat halting the progress of the Campos Racing drivers. The race resumed with three laps remaining, but with little room for improvement. In the end, Boya finished fourth ahead of Goethe. Colombian driver Montoya finished eighth, rounding off the team's excellent overall performance.
In Sunday's feature race, consisting of 23 laps, the scenario was similar. When the lights went out, the goal was once again to survive the always challenging first lap. After this, Boya was seventh, with Goethe following closely. Montoya, meanwhile, was 14th in the early stages. The safety car was deployed after the first lap, and the race did not resume until the fifth lap. Battles resumed with great intensity in the midfield, and Goethe overtook Boya to take seventh place. However, shortly after, on lap 8, a maneuver by Bedrin forced Goethe off the track, causing him to fall back behind Boya. Tire wear once again played a significant role in the race. At the halfway point, Boya was seventh, followed by a superb Montoya and Goethe. On lap 15, both Boya and Montoya passed Bedrin to rise to sixth and seventh place respectively. In the final moments of the race, Montoya overtook Boya and seemed to have a bit more pace than his Spanish teammate. At the checkered flag, Montoya finished sixth ahead of Boya. Goethe, meanwhile, crossed the line in ninth place.
After the first two rounds of the season, Boya sits ninth in the drivers' standings with 17 points. Goethe is eleventh with 11 points, tied with Montoya who also has the same amount. In the teams' standings, Campos Racing is fifth with 39 points.
The championship will now take a break of just over a month before resuming competitive action on European soil on May 18th and 19th at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola.
