Inthraphuvasak delivered a lights-to-flag victory at the Hungaroring F3 Sprint, after a late Safety Car caused by a crash between Nael and León.
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak delivered a composed display at the Hungaroring to secure his second Formula 3 sprint victory of 2025, successfully defending from Prema’s Ugo Ugochukwu after a late one‑lap shootout. Charlie Wurz completed the podium in third, capping a dramatic sprint filled with incidents, safety cars, and late‑race tension.
Strong Start, Early Safety Car
Starting from reverse-grid pole, Campos Racing’s Inthraphuvasak made an assertive move to cover off James Hedley into Turn 1. He retained the lead cleanly, while Brando Badoer moved up to fourth ahead of Alessandro Giusti in the opening corners.
However, the race was quickly neutralized when Ugochukwu made contact with Giusti into tT12, damaging the Frenchman’s suspension and sending him into the barriers. The resulting Safety Car bunched up the field and removed Giusti from contention.
Mid-Race Battle
The race resumed at the end of Lap 3 with Inthraphuvasak ahead of Hedley, Wharton, Badoer, and Ugochukwu. The Prema driver began his climb with a move on teammate Badoer at Turn 13 and soon began pressuring Wharton.
By Lap 7, Ugochukwu used DRS out of Turn 1 to sweep past Wharton into third, then set his sights on Hedley. A wide moment for the AIX Racing driver at Turn 4 on Lap 11 opened the door, and Ugochukwu seized second place with a smooth pass, setting up a late chase of the race leader.
Meanwhile, Hedley, who had run solidly in the top three all race, began to fall off the leading pace. Wharton remained glued to his gearbox, but it was Charlie Wurz who capitalized best, executing a well-timed pass into Turn 3 to get into P4.
Late Chaos & Final Lap Shootout
The drama wasn’t over. On Lap 14, Noel León and Théophile Naël collided at Turn 4, going off track and making contact again as they re-joined. The incident eliminated León and brought out a second Safety Car, setting up a one-lap dash to the flag.
When racing resumed, Inthraphuvasak nailed the restart, defending smartly into Turn 1 as Ugochukwu loomed behind with DRS. Behind them, Wurz dived down the inside of Hedley, snatching third and completing a well-earned podium for Trident.
Inthraphuvasak held his nerve through the final corners to cross the line just ahead of Ugochukwu and seal an impressive second Sprint Race win of the season for Campos Racing.
Championship Picture
Championship leader Rafael Câmara gained more valuable points after finishing P8 and setting the fastest lap. He now sits on 129 points, ahead of Nikola Tsolov (98), Tim Tramnitz (93), and Mari Boya (89). With the Feature Race still to come, Câmara has a chance to seal the title on Sunday morning.
In the Teams’ standings, Trident still leads with 243 points, but Campos Racing has closed in with 235, setting up a fierce battle heading into the final stages of the season.
Featured Image Credit : Red Bull Content Pool
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