Tim Tramnitz claimed victory in the chaotic Imola F3 Sprint Race, finishing ahead of Bruno Del Pino and Nikola Tsolov.
Tim Tramnitz Achieves His First F3 Win of the Season
The Imola F3 Sprint Race, the first in Europe in 2025, did not disappoint the fans. Although the track is known for its difficulty surrounding overtaking, the race was characterised by twists and turns.
Two safety-car periods bunched the field on more than one occasion. Tim Tramnitz emerged as the victor, having started on the front row alongside Bruno Del Pino, who had to settle for second. Nikola Tsolov came home third after his teammate Mari Boya, who had started ahead of him, was forced to retire.
…Italian gelato traditions for our top 3 🍨😋#F3 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/DThnfpWWwK
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) May 17, 2025
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Imola F3 Sprint Race: As It Happened
After a strong qualifying session, Bruno Del Pino started from pole position in the sprint race and aimed to defend his lead. He managed to hold off Tim Tramnitz initially, but the more experienced German driver overtook him on the third lap. Simultaneously, Ugo Ugochukwu overtook Noel Leon after a tough battle.
Marinangeli began a series of DNFs during the race, stopping his car on track on the fifth lap. This incident brought out the safety car and closed up the pack.
When the green flag waved, there was little change in the order until another car caused a second interruption.
That car belonged to Matias Zagazeta, who, after an off-track excursion, damaged his machine and retired.
Before the neutralisation, Rafael Camara, who had started 12th on the reverse grid after taking pole yesterday, managed to pass Mari Boya. Boya then encountered a problem, returned to the pits, and retired, visibly frustrated.
When the race resumed on lap 14, Noel Leon momentarily lost control of his Prema Racing car and slipped back to tenth, right in front of the championship leader.
Ahead, Bruno Del Pino began to pressure Tramnitz for the lead and also set the fastest lap to that point, but the German remained calm and kept his rival at bay.
As the race neared its conclusion, Alessandro Giusti showed a stronger pace and overtook Camara and Ramos to claim the final point in tenth place. Roman Bilinski and Noah Stromsted produced other impressive late-race overtakes, the Norwegian even setting the overall fastest lap.
Therefore, Tim Tramnitz won his first race of the season, Bruno Del Pino climbed the F3 podium for the first time, and Nikola Tsolov continued to show consistency in third, marking clear improvement on last year.
The point-scorers from that action-packed Sprint Race 💥#F3 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/mUvm0eXM5P
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) May 17, 2025
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Building Confidence
In a Press Conference after the Imola F3 Sprint Race, LWOS asked the Bulgarian driver about the start of his season and if he sees that his work in the past F3 years is paying off.
“Yeah, definitely. I think confidence has been up there, working with the team and finding new stuff each round. So this has been really important for me, that we keep improving and we never stop. Obviously, there are still things to work on, but I think we are definitely making steps every race. I think going into each tripleheader, we have something to improve, and that’s the way we want to look at things.”
Formula 3 will be back on Sunday with the Feature Race at 8.30 local time in Imola.
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ
Recording Date: 17.05.2025