WHAT WE LEARNED: One title decided and one far from over

Rafael Câmara sealed his second consecutive single-seater title, winning the FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship in style, but there was plenty more going on in Budapest.

From the Brazilian’s crowning moment to the comeback of his rivals, here are a few big talking points leaving the Hungaroring and heading into the summer break.

CÂMARA’S CORONATION

It was a year built on impressive Sunday performances but as rivals noted after the race, Câmara’s biggest strength in 2025 has been his one-lap speed, and so it was once again in Budapest.

The TRIDENT driver claimed a fifth pole position of the season, adding to his record number of P1 results on a Friday and taking major pressure off his shoulders by outqualifying his closest rivals in the title fight.

Last Sunday marked the first available opportunity for the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent to wrap the F3 title up, and he was on a mission to ensure it wouldn’t take a do-over in Monza.

READ MORE: Ferrari’s Jérôme d'Ambrosio on Rafael Câmara’s F3 title and how he’s evolved in 2025

Starting from P1, he rebuffed Mari Boya’s pressure early on before extending his advantage out in front and never once looking out of control.

His title confirmation comes with a round to spare and August is the earliest a Championship has been won in FIA Formula 3 history.

It further proves how impressive Câmara has been this season and after a well-deserved break back home, he’ll be targeting one final weekend in Monza to cap off what has been a hugely successful campaign.

CAMPOS STILL HAVE PLENTY OF PACE

Both Mari Boya and Nikola Tsolov arrived in Hungary hopeful that they would be able to not only delay Câmara’s title win, but firmly put themselves back into the fold for Monza.

However, things did not pan out that way for either, though the team looked to be making every attempt to get their title contenders back into the fray.

An alternative strategy in Qualifying had given Boya provisional pole in the first and second runs of the day. But, a resurgent Câmara was able to improvise having been forced to switch from his original run plan to match Campos and claimed top spot.

READ MORE

• Tsolov reflecting on the positives after bittersweet weekend in Budapest
• BUDAPEST ANALYSIS: How Câmara overcame the odds in Qualifying for crucial pole

Boya was left to rue a difficult final sector that left him 0.008s off while Tsolov was all but out of contention after ending up P21.

Both drivers gave it their best on Sunday, with Boya harrying the Championship leader in the opening laps of the race, while Tsolov quickly dispatched several rivals to move himself inside the top 15.

Though neither ended up with the result they were hoping for coming into the weekend, Boya’s one-lap improvements and consistency of late, and Tsolov’s defiant drive to P6 will fuel their comeback when the paddock reconvenes next month.

TRIDENT have a 19-point advantage going into their second home event of the season, but Campos will be aiming to spoil their homecoming and snatch their first F3 Teams’ title come Sunday in Monza.

WET RACES CONTINUE TO BRING THE DRAMA

For the third consecutive weekend, we had a wet Feature Race and yet again, it provided plenty of drama, twists and turns along with a few thrills and spills.

The wet weather gave us a manic Sunday at Silverstone, with Boya earning his maiden Feature Race victory in Formula 3 with an impressive drive to the top step in torrential conditions.

Unfortunately, the heavens opened on Sunday again in Spa to prevent us from getting a full Feature in as scheduled, but Budapest made up for that as we got a Championship decider in the wet.

While Câmara and Boya faced off at the front in the early stages, Tsolov, Louis Sharp and Ugo Ugochukwu in particular starred as drivers searched for the grip around a sodden Hungaroring.

Monza is no stranger to hosting a wet race or two over the years in Formula 3, and though it’s too early to tell if we’ll end the year with four wet races in a row, there will be more than a few drivers on the grid hoping the rain falls one more time and we end the 2025 season with another classic.