F3: Red Bull driver Tim Tramnitz wins F3 Sprint at Imola
Red Bull-backed driver Tim Tramnitz secured victory in the sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, taking his second Formula 3 victory following his triumph at the 2024 Monza Sprint Race. F1Technical’s senior writer Balazs is reporting from the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
Bruno Del Pino started from reverse grid pole and the Spaniard made an excellent start to keep Tramnitz in second initially, but the Red Bull Junior Team member used DRS to his advantage to close in on his rookie team mate before going around the outside into Turn 2 to claim the lead on Lap 3.
From there on, the German driver had the race under control, albeit he had to withstand the pressure at two restarts following two short safety car interruption.
Del Pino got close company from behind, but he was able to defend his second place from Nikola Tsolov late on to achieve his maiden Formula 3 podium, as the Campos Racing driver settled for third place.
It was a strong day for Rodin Motorsport as Louis Sharp and Roman Bilinski finished fourth and fifth respectively. Mercedes junior Noah Stromsted took a satisfying sixth while Ferrari’s junir driver Tuuka Taponen finished the sprint race in P7.
McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu made a mistake midway through the race, running wide at Acque Minerali, and lost ground, and ended up eighth, while Noel León and Alessandro Giusti completed the top ten.
After starting in 12th, Ferrari junior Rafael Câmara finished one place higher, but his eyes are set on the Feature Race in which he will start from pole position.
Reflecting on his victory, Tramnitz stated: “I mean for sure it was a very important day, to get the first win of the year, it’s always very special.
“I seem to like Italian tracks, first win in Monza and now in Italy again, so it just feels very nice. There is quite a big job to do tomorrow so I will enjoy this one today and then focus on the Feature Race tomorrow.”
The results from the Imola F3 Sprint saw Ferrari junior driver Rafael Câmara hang on to his lead in the drivers’ standings with a tally of 56 points, but Tramnitz has closed in on the TRIDENT driver in second as he moves to 40.
Noah Stromsted stays third on 33 points, while Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov moves up to fourth on 31, as Callum Voisin rounds out the top five for Rodin Motorsport on 27.
In the Teams’ Standings, TRIDENT continue at the top on 99 points, while MP Motorsport stay in second with 62 points with all three of their in the top 10. Rodin Motorsport jump up to third on 50 points ahead of Campos Racing on 48, as Van Amersfoort Racing round out the top five on 29.
