Rafael Camara fastest in first free practice of new Formula 3 era!

Credit: James Sutton

Ferrari Academy driver Rafael Camara, driving for Trident, topped the first free practice session of the new Formula 3 era and season, on Friday morning in Australia.

Camara topped the time sheets at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, in what was a very busy session, as teams and drivers were getting used to the machinery on its first ever race weekend in the championship.

The Brazilian driver was fastest ahead of MP Motorsport's Tim Tramnitz who was second, while Campos' Mari Boya completed the top three. Boya's Campos teammate Nikola Tsolov, and the Mercedes junior of Trident, Noah Stromsted, completed the top five.

Free Practice would end abruptly with five minutes remaining, due to a red flag which was caused by a mechanical issue to reigning GB3 champion Louis Sharp.

How Formula 3 free practice unfolded in Melbourne

Friday in Melbourne signified the start of the first round of the 2025 campaign, a brand new era of FIA Formula 3, with the brand new machinery making its first appearance in this season of racing.

It would also be the first time the opening round would be held in Melbourne, in the FIA Formula 3 Championship's history.

The green light would be on at the end of the pit lane, following a three-minute delay to the start of the session. Free Practice would be underway with Javier Sagrera of AIX Racing the first car on circuit.

At the very start of the session, there would be a small Virtual Safety Car test (VSC) to give the drivers a practice simulation in case one is needed to be used across the racing action, on Saturday and Sunday.

Soon the green flags would be flying once again and the session would be underway. Drivers would begin to set lap times and after the first 10 minutes of the session had passed, it was Van Amersfoort Racing's Santiago Ramos who was provisionally fastest.

There were many drivers that were finding time out on circuit. This would include Rodin's New Zealander, Louis Sharp who would be the next to go quickest overall. However, with half an hour remaining it would be the Hitech of Joshua Dufek that would have the quickest time.

However, it would not be long before Dufek had his lap time dislodged. Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) reigning champion, Rafael Camara, would be the man to go fastest for the Trident team.

Trident, who had led Gabriel Bortoleto and Leonardo Fornaroli to the two most recent Formula 3 titles would be the home of Camara's 2025 Formula 3 campaign. Could the reigning FRECA champion become the next Formula 3 champion?

Well with 20 minutes remaining, Camara's time of 1:34.901 would be the time to beat. It was just seven thousandths of a second faster than the time of Mari Boya, in the Campos, who had improved to second.

Camara would be beaten though and it would be by the Red Bull junior of Tim Tramnitz. MP Motorsport had trusted Tramnitz with a second season of their machinery, and he would beat Camara's time to go fastest by nine thousandths.

Tramnitz would be top with 10 minutes to go but he would be beaten again by Camara, who was showing fine pace in that Trident machine.

However, with five minutes remaining, the session would be brought to a halt due to a red flag being waved. Sharp pulled to the side of the road with a mechanical issue on the approach to turn 3.

The session would not be resumed in time for there to be any additional running on circuit, which brought an abrupt end to the first free practice of the 2025 campaign.

At the end of the session, it would be Rafael Camara, who would sit fastest overall with a time of 1:34.652 - in his first FIA Formula 3 free practice session.

Camara's lap would be over two tenths clear of Tim Tramnitz, who would have his MP Motorsport car sitting in second place. Mari Boya completed the top three for Campos, with his teammate Nikola Tsolov in fourth. New Mercedes junior, Noah Stromsted, was fifth to make it two Trident cars in the top five.

Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in the third Campos would end sixth, ahead of Hitech duo Joshua Dufek and Martinius Stenshorne, who were seventh and eighth respectively. MP Motorsport's Williams Academy star  Alessandro Giusti was ninth, with Santiago Ramos rounding off the top 10.

Formula 3 action would return on Friday afternoon local time for the first qualifying of the new era and of 2025.

2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship: Round 1 - Melbourne free practice result

1. Rafael Camara (Brazil, Trident)
2. Tim Tramnitz (Germany, MP Motorsport)
3. Mari Boya (Spain, Campos Racing)
4. Nikola Tsolov (Bulgaria, Campos Racing)
5. Noah Stromsted (Denmark, Trident)
6. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (Thailand, Campos Racing)
7. Joshua Dufek (Austria, Hitech TGR)
8. Martinius Stenshorne (Norway, Hitech TGR)
9. Alessandro Giusti (France, MP Motorsport)
10. Santiago Ramos (Mexico, Van Amersfoort Racing)
11. Noel Leon (Mexico, Prema Racing)
12. Callum Voisin (Great Britain, Rodin Motorsport)
13. Bruno Del Pino (Spain, MP Motorsport)
14. Roman Bilinski (Poland, Rodin Motorsport)
15. Ugo Ugochukwu (United States, Prema Racing)
16. Louis Sharp (New Zealand, Rodin Motorsport)
17. Charlie Wurz (Austria, Trident)
18. Nikita Bedrin (Italy, AIX Racing)
19. Laurens Van Hoepen (Netherlands, ART Grand Prix)
20. Theophile Nael (France, Van Amersfoort Racing)
21. Gerrard Xie (China, Hitech TGR)
22. Matias Zagazeta (Peru, DAMS Lucas Oil)
23. Tuukka Taponen (Finland, ART Grand Prix)
24. Nicola Lacorte (Italy, DAMS Lucas Oil)
25. Brando Badoer (Italy, Prema Racing)
26. Ivan Domingues (Portugal, Van Amersfoort Racing)
27. Christian Ho (Singapore, DAMS Lucas Oil)
28. Javier Sagrera (Spain, AIX Racing)
29. James Wharton (Australia, ART Grand Prix)
30. Nicola Marinangeli (Italy, AIX Racing)

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal