A downside of success is that it has the potential for comparisons as well as a change in expectations. There’s a strong belief that more will come. Anticipation is heightened for what is ahead. This is not only so for motorsport fans but often for the driver themselves!
Currently 23rd on the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship points table, why is Kiwi driver Louis Sharp not at the pointy end of the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship?
Having finished runner up in the 2022 GB4 Championship, he went on to win the title in 2023 and then claimed the GB3 title the following season. Now in FIA F3, he appears to be a mid-fielder making up the grid. Major doubt is lingering from a spectator’s point of view. Hope is that the driver concerned has none, rather they have a plan and are sticking to it.
All is not what it seems. If we delve deeper into the 22 drivers ahead of Sharp on the points table, there are some interesting facts that provide some clarity and explanation toward how the season has unfolded so far for the Kiwi driver.
You see, Sharp has taken a different approach in reaching the 2025 grid. All bar one driver has either competed in the Formula Regional European Championship at least for one season, or this is their second, or even third, season in FIA F3.
In other words, Sharp is lacking the type of experience of those ahead of him.
Let’s look at the top five drivers.
Rafael Câmara currently leads the championship heading to the next round at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. His career is the most impressive. In 2022 he was second overall in the Formula 4 UAE Championship and third in both the Italian and ADAC (German) F4 Championships. He moved up to Formula Regional (FR) with two seasons in both FR Middle East and FR European Championships, winning the latter in 2024. For 2025, he has won three of the ten races so far with four pole positions.
Second overall Nikola Tsolov is in his second season of FIA F3, having also competed in two seasons of FR European Championships. Tim Tramnitz, who sits in third, is in his third full season of FIA F3.
Mari Boya (Campos Racing) sits fourth overall. He has had four seasons in Formula Regional including three in the FR European Championship with his best result tenth in 2022. It’s his second season in the FIA F3 Championship, finishing 15th overall in 2024.
Fifth-placed placed Norwegian, Martinius Stenshorne, is also in his second FIA F3 season.
Of those in front of Sharp, only Christian Ho has not competed in the FR European Championship and is also a rookie FIA F3 driver having come through Eurocup-3, winning the title in 2024.
Clearly Sharp’s path is quite different and clearly lacks the experience, particularly of the top runners. We must remember that he went to Europe with the backing of Rodin Cars and has competed in series that they have their Rodin Motorsport team involved in – GB4, GB3 and FIA F3. Rodin does not have a team in FR European Championship.
The benefits of competing in the FR European Championship are two-fold. First you get to compete on the European circuits that the FIA F3 race on. Six of the eight European tracks in this season’s F3 series were raced on in the 2024 FR European Championship. GB3 only offered three (Silverstone, Spa and Hungary).
The second benefit for a driver is that most of the top drivers that move up to F3 will race in FR European so they will have plenty of experience with their fellow competitors.
So, is it a mistake for both Sharp and Rodin not to have been involved in FR European before stepping up to FIA F3? Not necessarily. That may depend on whether Sharp and Rodin are committed to a second season in FIA F3.
It would be unfortunate for Sharp to be dropped at the end of 2025 because the facts show that he has been at a disadvantage this season. We know he has the talent; he just doesn’t have the experience that 22 other drivers have ahead of him on the points table.
Hence the need to modify our expectations and have patience as we head into the second half of the FIA F3 season.
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