That said, what a masterclass by Théophile Nael. The Campos Racing driver stamped his authority all over the first ever race win around the Madring, grabbing the lead right on the opening lap and driving away from the pack in absolute style. It marked his third win of the season, leaving PREMA Racing's James Wharton and Alex Powell to complete the podium on what was undeniably a strong day for the Italian squad.
Here is how the chaos unfolded: Wharton started from pole position, but Nael launched better than anyone to snatch the lead into Turn 1. Wharton fought back wheel-to-wheel into Turn 5, went deep, and had to skip across the chicane before ceding the position later in the lap to slot back into second ahead of teammate Powell. Further down the order, the championship contenders failed to make early headway as Ugo Ugochukwu held firm in ninth, while Freddie Slater slipped one position to 18th in the TRIDENT.
By Lap 5, Nael had stretched his advantage over the chasing PREMAs to over a second, building a gap of 1.3 seconds that pushed him safely out of DRS range. Mid-race tactical moves shuffled the pack further back. Alessandro Giusti, running fourth, was instructed over team radio to yield his spot to Bruno Del Pino. Giusti obeyed out of Turn 17, dropping to fifth and instantly finding Ernesto Rivera filling his mirrors. With Giusti now out of Del Pino's DRS range, Rivera was ordered to attack by the Campos team on Lap 9.
Overtaking proved to be a brutal task around the circuit, but Taito Kato proved it was entirely possible by using DRS to round Tuukka Taponen into Turn 5, snatching the final points-paying position in 10th. Drama also struck Enzo Deligny, running seventh on the road, who copped a 10-second time penalty on Lap 13 for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while defending P7 from Jin Nakamura earlier in the race. Deligny's penalty ultimately plunged him down to 15th, promoting Nakamura, Ugochukwu, Kato, and Taponen up one position each into the points.
At the very front, however, nobody had an answer for Nael. He slammed down the fastest lap of the race on his way to a thoroughly dominant victory. "First victory of the weekend is for me," Nael said after the race, beaming about his Campos machine. "Super happy to take the first win around the Madring and another podium. The car was mega! I managed to have a really good start and then managed the tyres towards the end and also had the best lap of the race as well, so very happy." Wharton and Powell rounded out the podium behind him, with Powell's result marking his maiden rostrum visit on only his second weekend in F3. Del Pino successfully held off Giusti and Rivera to claim fourth.
The championship picture shifted as a result of the afternoon's racing. Freddie Slater still clings to the top of the Drivers' Championship on 141 points, but Ugo Ugochukwu clawed back a potentially vital two points to sit second on 129. Nael's brilliant victory vaulted him up to third in the standings on 86 points, just ahead of Campos teammate Ernesto Rivera on 81, while Taito Kato holds fifth on 73. In the Teams' Championship, Campos Racing closed in on a second consecutive title by extending their lead to 296 points. TRIDENT sits second with 213, Van Amersfoort Racing holds third on 162, ART Grand Prix is fourth with 157, and MP Motorsport rounds out the top five on 138.
Up next, the FIA Formula 3 drivers return to action later on Saturday for the first of two Feature Races this weekend. Taito Kato will start from pole position, while Ugo Ugochukwu eyes the championship lead from fourth on the grid.
