It was an eventful start to the 2025 FIA Formula 3 season in Melbourne as Van Amersfoort Racing‘s Santiago Ramos claimed the top spot in the season-opener Sprint Race at Albert Park. The Mexican gave a lesson in master crafting, shrugging off murderous pressure from Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne to cross the finish line first.
Off the front row on pole position, Ramos got a good start and immediately took his place at the head of the pack. It was a scrappy fight in his wake for second, Stenshorne, Roman Bilinski, Matías Zagazeta, and Tassanapol Inthraphuvasak all going head-to-head. Ramos created a gap in excess of one second, however, and though Stenshorne was always close behind, he was struggling to get by.
Early Drama and Safety Car Interruptions
There was a couple run of incidents throughout the race, the first being a noteworthy one where Laurens van Hoepen and Rafael Câmara were stuck in the gravel at Turn 11 after running into James Wharton, who had to pull into the pit lane due to retirement. Subsequently, Charlie Wurz wound up at Turn 4 after hitting Tim Tramnitz, resulting in a Virtual Safety Car.
As the racing continued, there was another crash at Turn 12 between Louis Sharp and Joshua Dufek but both managed to carry on back on track after pit stops. Tramnitz, on the other hand, dropped from sixth place right to the back of the grid after coming back through the pit lane after his on-track stop.
Ramos Keeps His Nerve Under Pressure
After bringing the Safety Car in, Ramos worked the restart effectively, stringing Stenshorne out by a handful at arm’s length. Halfway through the event, the front five drivers had three seconds of an advantage to the rest. Stenshorne fought desperately to close in on them, yet Bilinski oversaw the place with an occasional brief watch from third. Behind them, Inthraphuvasak overtook Zagazeta for fourth, though both lost ground to the leading trio.
Final Laps and Late-Race Chaos
With only four laps remaining to be completed, yet another Safety Car was generated as Javier Sagrera and Bruno del Pino collided with each other at Turn 3 and both stayed in the gravel. This erased the battle at the front but once the racing was back for a final push, Ramos executed the ideal restart as he maintained his head under pressure.
Stenshorne went all out in the closing laps, but Ramos was unperturbed, crossing the finish first for a stunning victory. Stenshorne took second, just in front of Bilinski, who gained podium on debut for Rodin. Inthraphuvasak and Zagazeta filled the next two spots.
A Statement Win for Ramos and VAR
This victory is a dream start to the season for Ramos and Van Amersfoort Racing. Holding off a fast-closing Stenshorne was no easy task, but the Mexican’s cool and precision had him on top of the podium. With the feature race still to be held, the season opener has provided a taste of what promises to be a closely contested campaign in FIA Formula 3.
That’s all from the Sprint Race, but the drivers are racing again tomorrow at 09:00 local time for the Feature. The battle for early championship momentum continues.
Top 10 Results – Australia F3 Sprint Race 2025
- Santiago Ramos (VAR) – 2:35.447
- Martinius Stenshorne (Hitech TGR) – +0.4s
- Roman Bilinski (Rodin) – +0.6s
- Tassanapol Inthraphuvasak (Campos) – +0.8s
- Matías Zagazeta (DAMS Lucas Oil) – +1.0s
- Nikita Bedrin (PHM Racing) – +1.2s
- Tern Nael (MP Motorsport) – +1.4s
- Nikola Tsolov (ART Grand Prix) – +1.7s
- Callum Voisin (Carlin) – +2.4s
- Noah Léon (Jenzer) – +2.9s