Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov delivered a standout performance in F3 qualifying at Silverstone. He claimed his second consecutive pole position after a thrilling late-session shootout. Tsolov’s final flyer held off a hard-charging Ugo Ugochukwu. Rafael Camara settled for third. With a tightly packed field and a reverse-grid start for Saturday’s Sprint, the stage is set for a classic weekend at the 2025 British GP.
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High-Fuel Flyers
The opening of the 30-minute session saw teams feeling out their cars, with several drivers setting early benchmarks on high fuel. TRIDENT’s Camara goes P1 with a 1:46.318, only to be pipped by Noah Stromsted. The shuffle continued as Tim Tramnitz, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, and Alessandro Giusti all joined the party up front. Until Tsolov reminded everyone why he provisionally won last week’s Austrian Feature Race.
With just over 21 minutes to go, Tsolov set the benchmark of 1:45.655. By the halfway mark, Tsolov, Tramnitz, Inthraphuvasak, Giusti, and Camara formed the top five. But the young field had only just started.
Camara Strikes Back
With 11 minutes left, Tramnitz chipped away at the gap but couldn’t quite topple Tsolov. Then Camara fired back with a 1:45.176, putting him 0.479s clear of the field and back on top. As the session reached the 9-minute mark, most of the field dove into the pits for a final tire swap. Only seven cars remained on track as 23 drivers prepared for the late-session shootout.
The closing minutes were electric. Charlie Wurz could only manage P6. Theophile Nael climbed to P2 with 2:30 left. Tramnitz and Mari Boya then replaced him. The clock hit 0:49, and the leaderboard exploded.
Tsolov and Ugochukwu Steal the Show
Just when it looked like Camara might be the pole sitter, Tsolov laid down a 1:45.043 to retake P1. Ugochukwu, showing determination and perhaps a spark of July 4th pride, surged to P2, just 0.023s behind. Camara’s earlier effort held up for P3, unable to improve in the third sector.
In total, 26 drivers were covered by under one second in a session that showed the depth of talent on the F3 grid. The Top 12, Tsolov through Inthraphuvasak, will be reversed for Saturday’s Sprint Race, giving the Thai rookie a Sprint Pole while leaving the fastest drivers with work to do in the midfield.
Of Note
While the Campos and PREMA drivers showed strong pace throughout, it was a disappointing day for Ferrari Juniors Tuukka Taponen and James Wharton. Taponen, currently eighth in the standings, could only manage P19. Wharton, 19th in the championship, landed in P20. With little margin for error, both drivers will need something special to turn things around in the Sprint.
There were also a couple of incidents noted by Race Control during the session, but Stewards’ decisions have not been issued as of this report. Nicola Lacorte was noted for speeding in the pit lane. Also, Giusti was noted for impeding Santiago Ramos at Turn 15, and both were summoned to the Stewards.
F3 at the 2025 British GP continues tomorrow with the Sprint Race at 9:15 a.m. local time.
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Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
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