Poland’s Kacper Sztuka secured a second and fifth place at the wheel of his Griffin Core by Campos-entered Tatuus. Meanwhile, Caranta and Rivera, driving the Campos Racing cars sporting the iconic Red Bull livery, each claimed a third-place finish. Carrasquedo and Tarnvanichkul also scored points in this opening round of the championship

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The 2025 Eurocup-3 season kicked off with an action-packed weekend at the Red Bull Ring, delivering a promising start for both Griffin Core by Campos and Campos Racing. In two tightly contested races where thousandths of a second made the difference, Kacper Sztuka led the charge for Griffin Core by Campos, standing on the podium after Saturday’s race. His teammates also made their mark, with Jesse Carrasquedo scoring his first points, while Portuguese driver Francisco Macedo came close to doing the same in his series debut. Meanwhile, the Red Bull-liveried Campos Racing cars also made a strong impression on Austrian soil, as both Jules Caranta and Ernesto Rivera claimed podium finishes, with Enzo Tarnvanichkul breaking into the top ten.

Following Friday’s free practice sessions, in which no fewer than fifteen drivers set times within the same second, the first qualifying session of the season took place. The tiny margins were evident, as Sztuka narrowly missed out on pole position, setting a lap time of 1m24.934s, just 0.017s shy of the fastest lap. Rivera secured fourth on the grid with a 1m25.084s, while Caranta also broke into the top ten, qualifying eighth with a 1m25.276s. Tarnvanichkul ended the session 12^th with a time of 1m25.477s. Macedo and Carrasquedo, however, were forced to start from the back after their best laps were deleted for track limits infringements.

The first race of the weekend, a 30-minute plus one lap sprint, took place on Saturday afternoon. As the lights went out, Sztuka slotted in behind Mattia Colnaghi. Rivera, starting fourth, quickly overtook Yani Stevenheydens on the second lap to move into third place. Caranta and Tarnvanichkul also ran inside the top ten in the early stages. At the front, Colnaghi tried to pull away from Sztuka, but the Polish driver kept the pressure on, staying within a second and a half of the leader. In the closing stages, Sztuka closed in further, attempting to pass Colnaghi both inside and outside, but ultimately had to settle for a strong second place, just six-tenths behind the Italian after 21 laps. Rivera broke away from his pursuers to secure the final step on the podium. Caranta initially crossed the line eighth, but a post-race penalty dropped him to 17^th, promoting Tarnvanichkul to ninth and adding to Campos Racing’s points tally. Carrasquedo staged a remarkable recovery to finish eleventh, while Macedo crossed the line 20^th.

Sunday morning’s second qualifying session saw Caranta lay down a marker, securing a stunning pole position with a 1m24.913s, earning two extra points for his efforts. Sztuka was the best of the Griffin Core by Campos drivers, qualifying fourth with a 1m25.207s. Just behind him were Rivera and Carrasquedo, who set times of 1m25.309s and 1m25.321s respectively. Tarnvanichkul rounded out the top ten with a 1m25.480s, while Macedo qualified 15^th with a 1m25.663s.

As the lights went out for the second race, Caranta and Colnaghi battled side by side through the opening corners, allowing Maciej Gladysz to seize the lead. Rivera ran fourth after the first lap, closely followed by Sztuka in fifth. Carrasquedo and Tarnvanichkul also found themselves in the top ten early on. Macedo delivered one of the standout moments of the weekend, pulling off a brave outside pass on Juan Cota. With Caranta settling into third place, Rivera, Sztuka, Tarnvanichkul, and Valerio Rinicella became embroiled in a thrilling multi-car scrap that had the spectators on their feet. After 22 laps, Caranta secured his first podium with a third-place finish, while Sztuka moved up to fifth in the closing laps after passing Rivera and Tarnvanichkul. Rivera crossed the line sixth but was later relegated to 15th following a penalty, promoting Carrasquedo to seventh. Macedo finished 11^th, just a second shy of the points.

After this first round, Sztuka leaves Spielberg second in the drivers’ standings with 28 points. Rivera sits fourth with 23 points, Caranta is sixth with 17, and Carrasquedo rounds out the top ten with 6 points. In the teams’ standings, Campos Racing is second with 40 points, while Griffin Core by Campos is third with 34.

The next Eurocup-3 event will take place at the Algarve International Circuit on 7-8 June.

Kacper Sztuka (Griffin Core by Campos Driver in Eurocup-3): „First round done, we scored a podium and very good points! Starting the season with P2 in the championship is great, we know the pace is there and we will keep pushing!”