Feature
What We Learned: Some of the big takeaways from Round 1 in Melbourne
The first round of the 2025 season has come and gone, and as we continue to debrief the Melbourne weekend, we are looking at some of the big storylines that emerged from our trip Down Under.
While one team hit the ground running in phenomenal fashion, others struggled for form in the new Formula 3 car. We also had an epic Sprint, a wet Feature Race, as well as some star performances from a few rookies and returning drivers.
So, here are a few storylines from Albert Park…
TRIDENT HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
The trip to Australia was covered in mystery, especially when it came to the pecking order, as the new F3 car meant that each team started from scratch over the winter and into Round 1.
So, all eyes were on the first few laps of Practice and Qualifying to see which teams, and drivers, had managed to get to grips with the car.
From the minute the lights went green on Friday, it was TRIDENT that looked in good form, Rafael Câmara going fastest on his first push lap, and he was joined in the top five by Noah Stromsted.
QUALIFYING ANALYSIS: TRIDENT’s impressive strategy that got them a 1-2 in Melbourne
That form carried on into Qualifying, where Câmara took pole ahead of Stromsted, with Charlie Wurz in P6, and they held those positions across the line in a Wet Feature Race.
Now, things may change over the coming rounds as the calendar returns to more familiar venues, but the Italian team’s pace was superb throughout the weekend.
It is a brilliant foundation from which they can build for the rest of the season, and it means their rivals will be working very hard to close the gap in Bahrain and onwards.
VAR’S BEST START
TRIDENT currently lead the Teams’ Championship with 54 points, but in second is Van Amersfoort Racing with 29, Dutch team having a very fine opening weekend.
A victory for Santiago Ramos in the Sprint Race followed by a third-place finish for Théophile Nael means VAR are off to their best-ever start in F3.
What will give them confidence also is that had it not been for a Red Flag in Qualifying, Nael could have possibly been on pole, showing that they could have pace in hand.
READ MORE: Van Amersfoort Racing Team Principal Bradley Joyce on the team’s Melbourne weekend
They will want to make sure this is not circuit specific and that they can transfer this form over to Bahrain and Imola, where the next two rounds will be held.
Those are two circuits where they have had positive results, Franco Colapinto achieving pole in Sakhir on the team’s debut in 2022, while Noel León finished on the podium in the Imola Sprint Race last year.
Before that, they have the in-season test in Bahrain, which will give VAR the chance to build on the good performances they have already displayed in the new F3 car.
ROOKIES MAKE THEIR MARK
Câmara’s dominant victory in the Feature Race means he is at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, followed by Nael and his TRIDENT teammate Stromsted.
This is just the third time in Formula 3’s history that the top three in the Standings have been made up of rookies after Round 1, following the 2020 and 2023 seasons.
With Rodin Motorsport’s Roman Bilinski in eighth, there are four rookies in the top 10. It’s a great start from the newcomers, and there are others who may not have scored the points they hoped for, but still showed plenty of promise on debut.
READ MORE: Wurz praises ‘strong’ TRIDENT after positive Melbourne weekend
For example, Ugo Ugochukwu qualified in eighth before finishing 10th in the Feature Race, while Tuukka Taponen went from P25 to P13 in the Sprint.
There were other drivers like Javier Sagrera, Alessandro Giusti, and Bruno del Pino who had strong drives in the races before collision damage affected their progress.
All in all, it was a good weekend for the rookies and while some may not have achieved the results they wanted, Melbourne will have been a great learning experience for them.
A MIXED COMPETITION
Such was the competition for points in Melbourne, that only ART Grand Prix left Melbourne without scoring.
This is the first time since 2022 that only one team left Round 1 scoreless, as in each of the last two seasons, three teams did not achieve a points finish in the opening round.
The new car has certainly brought the field closer together in terms of competitiveness, and you saw that in both races, as the battle for points in both the Sprint and Feature was fierce.
As a result, the teams will be looking forward to testing in Bahrain next week. The performance gains made over those three days could prove vital in their hopes moving forward.
Even for ART, Laurens van Hoepen ended up P12 in the Feature, while Taponen finished P13 in the Sprint, so while they are last in the Standings, they have shown themselves to be competitive.
The teams are still very much in the early stages of understanding this new car, so these three days could help unlock some more performance before the competitive action resumes.