The German-Danish driver had his best FIA F3 weekend to date, winning on Saturday and securing second-place finish in Sunday's race. Additionally, he set the fastest laps in both races. His teammates Boya and Montoya mirrored his performance with impressive comebacks that earned them points-paying positions on Sunday
Campos Racing had a fantastic weekend at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the venue for the third round of the FIA Formula 3 season. The Italian circuit witnessed the first win of the season for a Campos Racing driver, thanks to an imperial Oliver Goethe. The German-Danish driver triumphed in Saturday's sprint race and secured second place at the finish line on Sunday. Moreover, both Spaniard Mari Boya and Colombian Sebas Montoya added more points to Campos Racing's haul with two monumental comebacks on a track known for its narrowness and difficulty in overtaking.
Early on Friday, the free practice sessions took place, where Campos Racing-entered cars already showed the necessary speed to fight for everything. Goethe was the fastest driver at the end of the session, topping the timesheets with his lap of 1m32.047s. Boya was third with his lap of 1m32.628s, while Montoya experienced a setback, managing only a couple of laps before an off-track excursion prevented him from accumulating mileage ahead of qualifying. Qualifying was extremely challenging, with traffic caused by drivers almost stopping on track for clean air and laps being deleted for track limits. This latter issue significantly affected the Campos Racing drivers, with Goethe managing to salvage seventh place with a time of 1m32.254s. Montoya could not go beyond 23rd place with a time of 1m33.135s, and Boya fared even worse with his lap of 1m33.237s, leaving him in 27th.
Saturday's race had Goethe starting sixth on the reversed grid. As soon as the lights went out, the Campos Racing driver overtook two rivals to move up to fourth. Unfortunately, the first lap was disastrous for Boya, who was hit exiting Turn 4, sending him into the gravel and forcing him to retire. This incident brought out the first safety car until the race resumed on lap 3. Goethe immediately overtook Kacper Sztuka to move into podium position, but the safety car returned a couple of laps later. The green flags waved again on lap 10, with Goethe soon overtaking Tim Tramnitz on the main straight. However, in a race filled with incidents, the safety car appeared once more. With Goethe now in second, the race restarted with four laps to go, with Mexican driver Noel León being the last obstacle for the Campos Racing driver on his way to victory. A Virtual Safety Car slowed the pace in the final moments, and on the restart, Goethe made a skillful move to overtake León and take the lead on the last lap. After 18 laps, Goethe crossed the finish line as the winner, also securing the fastest lap of the race and the extra point. Montoya finished 25th.
Sunday's feature race, consisting of 22 laps, was no less exciting. Unlike the previous day, it was much cleaner, with no safety car periods. When the lights went out, Goethe overtook two drivers and completed the first lap in fifth position. Behind him, Boya and Montoya also began their comebacks from the back of the pack. Goethe was unstoppable in the early stages, overtaking Arvid Lindblad on lap 2 to move into fourth and then passing Sami Meguetounif shortly after. The Red Bull-backed Campos Racing driver's progress was such that by lap 5, he had overtaken Santiago Ramos and on lap 6, Leonardo Fornaroli. From there, with the fastest lap, he built a nearly three-second lead over Ramos until Ramos was overtaken by Meguetounif. The French driver then started to close in on Goethe, overtaking him with four laps to go. Goethe, with worn tires, managed to fend off Fornaroli to secure second place at the finish line. However, much of the attention was on Boya and Montoya behind. By mid-race, they were already among the top fifteen, and by the checkered flag, Boya had climbed to ninth, just ahead of Montoya. Notably, Boya was the fastest driver on track in the final stages.
After this third round of the season, the standings have tightened. In the drivers' championship, Goethe moves up to fifth place with 41 points, just eleven points off the leader. Boya is now eleventh with 19 points, and Montoya thirteenth with 12 points. In the teams' standings, Campos Racing also gained ground and now sits third with a total of 72 points.
There will be no rest before the fourth round, as the championship heads to the streets of Monaco next weekend. The street circuit, one of the most challenging in the world, will provide another tough test for all FIA Formula 3 drivers.
