Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Santiago Ramos

  • F3 – Imola – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    It was as you were at the start, with pole-sitter del Pino keeping teammate Tramnitz behind, while Mari Boya stayed in third ahead of fellow Campos driver Tsolov in fourth.

    In fifth, Noel Leon was coming under threat from PREMA Racing teammate Ugo Ugochukwu, as well Rodin Motorsport rookie Louis Sharp at the end of the opening lap.

    Tramnitz made the DRS count at the start of Lap 3 to take the lead from del Pino at the entry of Turn 2.

    Moments later, Ugochukwu overtook Leon at the same corner for fifth, but he soon dropped to sixth as Sharp completed a double overtake on both PREMA drivers at the exit of Turn 4.

    A Virtual Safety Car soon turned into a full Safety Car on Lap 5, as AIX Racing’s Nicola Marinangeli stopped on track at the exit of Tosa with a wheel off his car.

    Racing resumed at the start of Lap 9 of 18 and it was a good restart for the MP top two as they built up a 1.8s lead.
    Boya was struggling through and dropped from P3 to out of the points before another Safety Car came out.

    The Spaniard retired to the pit lane, while the marshals cleared Matias Sagazeta’s DAMS Lucas Oil car from the gravel at Tamburello, following an incident with Callum Voisin.

    Tramnitz once again had a good restart while del Pino held off Tsolov in the battle for second as Sharp kept a watching brief from P4.

    The DRS was enabled at the start of Lap 14 of 18 and del Pino was using it, not only to pull away from Tsolov, but also to close in on Tramnitz down the main straight.

    Leon had a scruffy lap as he ran wide at the exit of Turn 7 in a battle with Tuukka Taponen for seventh, dropping him to P9 behind Noah Stromsted.

    Roman Bilinksi, now in P6, was showing tremendous pace, setting the fastest time of the race on Lap 15, which brought him right onto the back of Ugochukwu.

    The Rodin driver was not close enough into Turn 2 to make a move, but behind him Stromsted was to take P7 from Taponen at the same corner.
    Onto the penultimate lap and Ugochukwu ran wide into the gravel at the entry to Acqua Minerali, dropping him from fifth to eighth.

    Tramnitz though had managed the race perfectly and crossed the line to take victory in the Imola Sprint as del Pino made it a first one-two in Formula 3 for MP Motorsport.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Tramnitz, P2: del Pino, P3: Tsolov, P4: Sharp, P5: Bilinski, P6: Tsolov, P7: Taponen, P8: Ugochukwu, P9: Leon and P10: Guisti.

    Day 3-

    It was a great start from Ramos, who got ahead of Camara on the run down to Turn 2, while Stromsted dropped to fifth after starting in P3, with Tuukka Taponen and Louis Sharp getting ahead.

    Camara was told over the radio to stay with Ramos and on Lap 4, the Brazilian retook the lead from the Van Amersfoort Racing driver.

    Trident was keen to make up for the start as Stromsted recovered one of the places he lost thanks to a nice move round the outside of Sharp on Lap 6 at Turn 2,

    Onto Lap 8, and Ramos had managed to stay within DRS range of Camara. The pair were over two seconds clear of Taponen, who was coming under pressure from Stromsted.

    The Dane got back to where he started after overtaking the ART Grand Prix driver into Turn 2. Just behind, Roman Bilinski overtook his Rodin Motorsport teammate Louis Sharp for fifth at the same corner.

    Further behind, MP Motorsport were making moves as Tim Tramnitz overtook Noel Leon for ninth at Piratella, while Alessandro Giusti dived to the inside of Nikola Tsolov at the penultimate corner.

    Boya was flying and moved past the Rodins on Lap 14 and 15, first Sharp an then Bilinski, both at Turn 2, putting him up to P5.

    Sharp was beginning to fall through the field and lost out to Tramnitz and Guisti, and by Lap 18 of 22 was in ninth.
    Ramos was closer than ever to Camara now at the start of Lap 19, and his race long pressure finally paid off, going to the outside of the Trident driver.

    Camara was in trouble now as he struggled on his tyres and after running wide at Acque Minerali, Stromsted was through to second.

    It was a team effort for MP on the penultimate lap as both Tramnitz and Giusti went round the outside of Bilinski at Turn 2, promoting then to P6 and P7 respectively.

    On to the final lap and Stromsted closed to within DRS range of Ramos, but the VAR driver held on to claim his first Formula 3 Feature Race victory.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Ramos, P2: Stromsted, P3: Camara, P4: Taponen, P5: Boya, P6: Tramnitz, P7: Giusti, P8: Bilinski, P9: Tsolov and P10: van Hoepen.

  • Van Amersfoort Racing finalise 2025 lineup

    Van Amersfoort Racing have confirmed that Santiago Ramos will race for the team in the 2025 Formula 3 season, completing their lineup for the upcoming season.

    Ramos who will race alongside Theophile Nael and Ivan Domingues, returns for a second F3 season after finishing the 2024 campaign 16th in the Drivers’ Championship with 44 points.

    The Mexican driver achieved one podium which came at the final round of the season in Monza where he finished second in the Sprint Race, as well as a pole position at Imola with Trident.

    He is now set to race for Van Amersfoort Racing in 2025 and following the announcement the 20 year old is delighted to return for a second season.

    I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be joining Van Amersfoort Racing for the upcoming FIA Formula 3 season. After showing some strong pace last year, I’m confident that with VAR’s support and expertise, we’re set for an incredible season. I can’t wait to get back in the car and fight for great results together!
    Ramos on the news.

    We are delighted to welcome Santiago to our FIA Formula 3 team for the upcoming season. We’ve followed his progress over the years and have been impressed by his skills and determination. Santiago showed great potential during his rookie F3 campaign, and we are confident that, with the right support and environment, he will be able to reach his full potential with us. We look forward to working with him and helping him continue advancing in his racing career.
    Van Amersfoort Racing Team Principal, Brad Joyce.

  • F3 – RND 3 Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Campos Racing’s Oliver Goethe was the man to beat in Free Practice around Imola, with the German driver’s 1:32.047 the time to beat in the opening session of the weekend.
    Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning finished in P2, 0.3s down on the top time while Mari Boya made it two Campos cars in the top three.

    A very quiet opening 10 minutes gave way to some early laptimes, and it was Joseph Loake that went quickest for Rodin Motorsport. His 1:36.795 put him fastest in the initial stages before the rest of the field ventured out.

    PREMA Racing’s Arvid Lindblad lowered the benchmark to a 1:33.784 on his first lap, with ART Grand Prix driver Christian Mansell slotting into P2, 0.2s down.

    There was a red flag with 24 minutes of the session to go after Campos Racing’s Sebastian Montoya found the barriers at the exit of Turn 15, running resumed with 18 minutes left.

    Wurz’s teammate Max Esterson was next to take over in P1, before Browning put in a 1:32.367 to go comfortably quickest with just over 10 minutes to go.

    Goethe closed the gap down to the leader to just under a tenth of a second before then going to the top of the times on his next effort.
    A 1:32.047 put him 0.3s clear of the pack with five minutes left.

    A second red flag quickly followed after Piotr Wisnicki slid into the barriers at Turn 9, with little time left, the session wasn’t restarted.

    Qualifying-

    Santiago Ramos saved his best for last to lead teammates Leonardo Fornaroli and Sami Meguetounif in an exciting Imola Qualifying session.
    The Mexican’s 1:31.767 put him on pole in the final moments to top a Trident 1-2-3 result!

    With tyre preparation laps completed, PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Mini led the way on a 1:32.598 ahead of compatriot Fornaroli. ART Grand Prix rookie Laurens van Hoepen filtered through in third, 0.172s down on the top effort.

    There was a red flag with 10 minutes gone after Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin spun into the gravel at Turn 4.
    The session resumed and Oliver Goethe took over at the top. The Campos Racing driver carried on his form from Practice to pip Mini and to take provisional pole by 0.081s.

    Most drivers returned to the pits with just under half of the qualifying session remaining, but Fornaroli stayed on track and put in his personal best to go 0.3s clear in P1 on a 1:32.159. MP Motorsport’s Alex Dunne followed suit and move himself up to second, 0.141s behind with 12 minutes to go.

    Dino Beganovic was the first to improve, just 0.003s quicker than Fornaroli’s earlier time. Teammate Arvid Lindblad then took over with a 1:32.109.

    Into the final two minutes and there were green and purple sectors throughout the field. Fornaroli restored himself onto provisional pole to go 0.2s quicker than Lindblad.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Ramos, P2: Fornaroli, P3: Meguetounif, P4: Lindblad, P5: Beganovic, P6: Mini, P7: Goethe, P8: Van Hoepen, P9: Browning and P10: Tramnitz.

  • Trident sign Santiago Ramos

    Trident have locked in their lineup for the 2024 FIA Formula 3 campaign, announcing that Santiago Ramos will be joining them next season.
    The 19 year old will be partnering Leonardo Fornaroli and fellow rookie Sami Meguetounif at the Italian team.

    Ramos makes the step up to the third tier off the back of his second Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine campaign, finishing 11th in the Standings with one podium finish.

    The Mexican driver had his first chance to get to grips with the F3 car during post-season tests, clocking in 407 laps of running across the six days in Jerez, Barcelona and Imola.

    After honing his racing skills in karting, Ramos progressed to single seaters in 2019 with a three-round debut in Italian F4. Returning to run in the Championship across the following two seasons, he earned a best result of fifth before joining the FRECA grid for the 2022 campaign.

    So happy to announce that I’m joining Trident Motorsport for the FIA F3 championship! Working closely with them during post-season testing has been fantastic. I’m excited about this new chapter, ready to give it my all, and looking forward to making every race weekend a memorable experience. Huge thanks to Trident, Escudería Telmex, and my sponsors for this opportunity!

    Ramos on the news.

    It is with extreme delight and confidence that we welcome a young prospect like Santiago Ramos to our line-up. We are looking forward to doing a great job with him, and we think we have all the necessary resources to allow him to improve and make his way through the motorsport ladder. We like to invest in rookie drivers, who have yet to express their full talent. I am convinced that, together with Santiago, we will achieve our goals as in the team’s tradition.

    Giacomo Ricci, Trident Team Manager.