What We Learned: A few talking points from Round 8 at Spa-Francorchamps

Round 8 at Spa-Francorchamps is in the books and the entire paddock is currently making its way to Budapest for the penultimate race weekend of the 2025 season.

But before we hit the tarmac at the Hungaroring, we still have a few things to debrief from our trip to Belgium. So, we picked out a few storylines that might interest you from the three days.

TRIDENT BACK ON TOP

TRIDENT started the season as a team on fire winning three of the opening five Feature Races from pole thanks to Rafael Câmara.

READ MORE: Ricci praises his three drivers after ‘positive’ Spa weekend for TRIDENT

But recently, their results had taken a slight dip, with the Brazilian or either of his teammates Noah Stromsted and Charlie Wurz taking a pole in each of the two rounds that followed.

On top of that, they scored just two points at Silverstone and lost the lead of the Teams’ Standings for the first this season to Campos Racing after Round 7.

But they appeared to be back to their best at Spa, with Câmara qualifying on the front row for the first time since Barcelona, while Noah Stromsted and Charlie Wurz also qualified in the top 12.

This put Stromsted on the front row for the Sprint and Wurz on the second, and after an excellent 12 laps of racing, the former went on to win for the first time in F3, while the latter achieved his maiden podium.

Câmara, having finished P5 on Saturday, did not have a shot at a potential Feature Race victory due to the torrential rain that caused the event to be stopped. But still, it wound up being a positive weekend for the Italian outfit, who have now regained lead of the Teams’ Championship.

POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES FOR UGO AND PREMA

After a slow start to the season, it is fair to say the second half of the campaign has been quite positive for Ugo Ugochukwu and PREMA Racing.

FEATURE RACE: Benavides heads field after Red Flag stoppage in Spa

After qualifying in the top 12 twice – in Melbourne where he was P8 and Imola where he was seventh – in the opening five rounds, the 18-year-old has been much more competitive at the last three rounds.

It started in Spielberg, where he was in the battle for pole until a spin at the final corner, although he still wound up in P8. Ugochukwu thought he had achieved a podium in the Sprint, but a post-race penalty dropped him down the order, although he finish fourth on Sunday.

On to Silverstone, he was second fastest in Qualifying and finished fifth in the Sprint, but the decision to start on slick tyres in wet conditions, cost him and PREMA.

The American driver though still showed good pace in Spa, having qualified sixth, and even felt there was more on the table for him.

He showed that in the Sprint Race, where he charged through to finish second, and had it not been for the torrential rain, he might have been on the podium once again on Sunday.

Ugochukwu and PREMA now head to the final few rounds knowing that their pace is strong, but they will want to convert that into a strong Feature Race result in Budapest and Monza.

AIX AND BENAVIDES CONTINUE QUALI FORM

Brad Benavides achieved his and AIX Racing’s first F3 pole on Friday, with a superb lap late on in Qualifying.

READ MORE: Round 8 Post Sprint Race Press Conference

It continues a strong run of form over one lap for both team and driver given that they qualified on the front row in Spielberg at Round 6.

Since stepping into the seat at Imola, the American has shown glimpses of form, but in the last three rounds has proven very strong in Qualifying – narrowly missing out on a place in top 12 at Silverstone, 0.042s off Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in 12th. In fact, he was only a tenth of a place in the top five.

Now they have their first pole, they will want to convert that into a strong race form, because if they can, they could be in for a good final two rounds of the season.