Despite a challenging weekend plagued by power cuts due to electronic issues, Tsolov and Boya managed to secure valuable points at the Italian circuit, while Inthraphuvasak, after an off-track moment in qualifying that forced him to start at the back for both races, made up a remarkable twenty-four positions over the weekend
Campos Racing and its drivers demonstrated resilience in overcoming a potentially adverse weekend at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, the venue for the third round of the 2025 FIA Formula 3 season. From Friday onwards, the cars of Nikola Tsolov, Mari Boya, and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak experienced power cut issues, significantly hampering their chances. Nonetheless, the hard work of the entire team and the determination of the drivers helped to minimize the impact. This effort paid off, as Tsolov claimed his second podium of the season, while Boya, despite being forced to retire from Saturday’s race due to the aforementioned electronic woes, recovered strongly to finish fifth on Sunday. Inthraphuvasak, despite starting from the back in both races, showcased his fighting spirit and talent with two impressive recoveries.
The weekend got underway on Friday morning with the free practice session, where Boya, hailing from the Aran Valley, set the best time among the Campos Racing drivers with a lap of 1m33.658s, placing him fifth overall. Tsolov’s best effort was a 1m33.876s, just ahead of Inthraphuvasak’s 1m33.947s. However, in the afternoon qualifying session, with track temperatures soaring above 40ºC, Inthraphuvasak faced a significant setback. While improving his sector times, he suffered an off-track excursion that not only ruined his lap but also triggered a red flag, resulting in all his times being deleted and relegating him to the back of the grid for both races. Meanwhile, Tsolov and Boya, despite ongoing power issues, managed to secure top-ten positions, with the Bulgarian going ninth with a 1m32.686s and the Spanish driver tenth with a 1m32.710s.
The first race of the weekend, a sprint over 18 laps, saw Boya and Tsolov line up third and fourth on the reversed grid, maintaining their positions off the line as the lights went out. Behind them, Inthraphuvasak made up three places on the opening lap. A tightly bunched field led to a safety car intervention on lap 6 after a car shed a wheel on track. The race resumed three laps later, just as disaster struck for Boya. With his car suddenly losing power due to the same electronic gremlins that had plagued him earlier, Boya was forced to head to the pits and retire. Meanwhile, Tsolov, also struggling with similar issues, held off his rivals to cross the line in third, securing a crucial second podium of the season following his victory in Bahrain. Inthraphuvasak, having started 30th, climbed to 19th – an impressive feat on a circuit known for its difficulty in overtaking.
Sunday’s feature race, despite being held in cooler morning temperatures, posed a severe test for tire management over 22 laps, with the threat of graining a constant concern. Boya started strongly, running ninth by the end of the first lap, with Tsolov in 11th and Inthraphuvasak 25th. Boya began to pick up the pace on lap 6, overtaking Noel León to move into eighth. Once in clear air, the Spaniard’s strong race pace became evident. Tsolov, meanwhile, found himself stuck behind León and even took a rear-end tap at Piratella, though fortunately without damage, allowing him to eventually pass León as well. Boya’s charge continued as he overtook Ugo Ugochukwu on lap 13, followed by moves on Louis Sharp and Roman Bilinski over the next two laps to secure fifth place. Tsolov also gained positions as those ahead struggled with tire degradation, climbing to ninth by the chequered flag. Inthraphuvasak crossed the line 17th, matching the pace of his teammates despite fighting his way through the pack.
After this third round of the season, Tsolov holds sixth in the drivers’ standings with 33 points, while Boya and Inthraphuvasak sit close together with 14 and 13 points respectively. In the team standings, Campos Racing remains third with 60 points.
Next up, the entire Campos Racing squad heads to Monaco for the fourth round of the season, set to take place on the challenging streets of the Principality next weekend.
Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 3): “Difficult weekend for me, although still scoring points in both races. We were already a step back with P9 in qualifying. Then in the sprint race was still a podium, which is quite positive. But then the feature race kept having problems and, in the end, finished P9 despite some engine cuts during the race, which were costing me a lot of time. And just generally the whole weekend we've been having engine cuts, which is something hopefully that will get fixed later on. But I would say that was what was limiting us the most. Otherwise, I think it's still positive to walk away with double points finish. But there's some positives to take into the next two rounds where I feel more confident. So, I'm sure there will be better weekends and just keep our head down and keep going.”
Mari Boya (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 3): “I feel happy with our work throughout the weekend at Imola. I think we are building up a nice momentum alongside the team. It’s was such a pity our issue on Saturday but, maintaining our heads down, top results are just around the corner as we proved on Sunday with our race pace.”
