It was a different kind of Friday at Spa-Francorchamps for Round 8 of the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship. Due to foggy weather conditions Free Practice had to be rescheduled, pushing Qualifying into the late afternoon. The change in schedule forced teams and drivers to adapt quickly — and it made for an unpredictable session on the legendary Belgian circuit.
As the green light signalled the start of the 30-minute session, drivers rolled out on medium tyres, building heat for their first flying laps. The track was still evolving, and the opening phase was all about finding rhythm and tyre temperature.
Early Benchmarks and Deleted Laps
Reigning Spa polesitter Callum Voisin was among the early frontrunners, but it was Martinius Stenshorne who initially set the pace with a 2:06.309. That time didn’t last long: Ugo Ugochukwu briefly took provisional pole with a 2:05.791, only to be immediately eclipsed by Rafael Câmara, who laid down a strong 2:05.557.
Meanwhile, lap deletions became a running theme. Mari Boya, who had briefly held P2, saw his time struck off for exceeding track limits. He wasn’t the only one loosing his place, with several others suffering the same fate.
VAR’s Early Gamble Pays Off
At the 12-minute mark, most drivers pushed for a second fast lap on the same set of Mediums. But Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) took a bold approach. They brought all three of their drivers into the pits while the rest of the field stayed out. It looked like a gamble — but it worked.
With 10 minutes to go, VAR exploited the mid-session lull and clean track. Naël goes quickest, followed by Ramos in third and Domginues in 10th place. The decision to run in the gap put all three VAR drivers inside the top 12, giving them a strategic edge going into the final push laps.
Final Runs See Benavides Emerge on Top
The final five minutes brought the entire field back out on track for one last effort. Soon the lap times began to tumble. Initially, it looked like Boya and Nikola Tsolov would battle for pole. Naël’s benchmark was soon beaten by Boya — only for Stenshorne, and then Brad Benavides, to go even faster.
Benavides’ lap — a blistering 2:04.253 — was perfectly timed. Câmara pushed hard and came close, falling just 0.106s short.
There was late-session chaos as times were deleted and reinstated. Câmara’s lap was temporarily deleted, dropping him to P23, but later reinstated. Boya’s final time was deleted, dropping him down to P16 and out of reverse-grid contention. Ramos made one last attempt for VAR but could only manage P10
Historic Pole for AIX Racing
With no further improvements, it was Benavides who sealed pole — a first for AIX Racing in Formula 3 and a huge moment for the American driver, who simply said:
“Wow, P1!”
Behind him, the top ten shaped up as follows:
- Brad Benavides – 2:04.253
- Rafael Câmara – +0.106s
- Callum Voisin
- Roman Bilinski
- Martinius Stenshorne
- Ugo Ugochukwu
- Nikola Tsolov
- Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak
- Charlie Wurz
- Bruno del Pino
Further back, Noah Strømsted and Freddie Slater slotted into P11 and P12 respectively, meaning Freddie Slater in P12 will start from reverse-grid pole for Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Title Contenders Under Pressure
Championship contender Tim Tramnitz, currently second in the standings, ended the session at a disappointing P13 — highlighting the incredibly tight field, with the top 22 drivers covered by just one second.
For AIX Racing and Benavides, however, it was a landmark session — not only outpacing three championship frontrunners but doing so with composure in a chaotic qualifying.
With changing weather always a factor at Spa and drivers hungry for points, both the Sprint and Feature Races promise even more fireworks in the Ardennes.