Sebastian Wheldon, the American driver racing for Prema Racing, claimed victory in Race 3, which featured drivers from Groups A and C. This marked the final contest of the group stage before the Vallelunga Final race, where the top 36 drivers of the weekend will compete. Delivering a flawless performance, Wheldon secured his second win of the season after starting from the fourth row of the grid. With a total of 96 points, the young Andretti talent has firmly established himself as the main challenger to Kean Nakamura-Berta in the fight for the title. The much-anticipated showdown between the two did not take place in Race 3 due to the rotation of groups, but the duel will resume in the Final: the Slovak-Japanese driver will start from pole position, aiming for a second consecutive perfect weekend, with Wheldon lining up alongside him on the front row. Completing the Race 3 podium were Alex Powell and Maksimilian Popov.
Sunday’s action at the ACI Racing Weekend in Vallelunga began with a race full of twists and turns. Among the expected frontrunners, US Racing’s Maxim Rehm was forced to retire before the start: he was due to line up fourth on the grid but was unable to move off during the formation lap. When the lights went out, PHM AIX Racing’s David Cosma-Cristofor, who started from pole, was immediately swallowed up by the pack after a lightning getaway from the front rows. It was US Racing’s Luka Sammalisto who took the lead, engaging in a tight battle with R-ace GP’s Emanuele Olivieri for the top spot.
It was a no-holds-barred fight, but Sebastian Wheldon decisively entered the mix. After gaining a position at the start, he quickly moved into podium contention, pulled off two successive overtakes, and grabbed the lead, managing to open up a gap. In the laps that followed, the battle for the remaining podium places heated up. A contact sent Sammalisto to the back of the field, while Olivieri received a 25-second penalty. That opened the door for R-ace GP’s Alex Powell, the Mercedes junior driver, who came out on top in a direct scrap with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Maksimilian Popov. That trio ultimately stood on the podium: for Powell, it was his first top-three finish of the 2025 season after a tough start in Misano. For Popov, it was a return to the champagne celebrations, having finished second twice in the opening round.
The remaining positions in the top 10 were equally hard-fought. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Marcus Saeter, from Norway, finished fourth and took Rookie class honours after emerging from the fierce battles in the leading group. Fifth went to Argentina’s Teo Schropp of Jenzer Motorsport, ahead of Maffi Racing’s Kirill Kutskov, who was second among the Rookies. Completing the debutant podium was Van Amersfoort Racing’s Aleksander Ruta in seventh overall. Australian driver Dante Vinci, also representing Frits van Amersfoort’s team, crossed the line eighth and was in contention for Rookie points. However, Vinci was handed a 10-second penalty for contact with Bart Harrison, dropping him several positions. Harrison, British driver racing for Jenzer Motorsport, moved up to eighth, while ninth place saw Luca Viisoreanu give Real Racing their first points of the season. Tenth place went to Prema Racing’s Oleksandr Bondarev, a member of the Williams Driver Academy. Just outside the points, a contact between R-ace GP’s Oleksandr Savinkov and PHM AIX Racing’s Andrea Charles Dupe resulted in a 25-second penalty for the latter.
In the Women’s Trophy, victory went to R-ace GP’s Emily Cotty, ahead of Kornelia Olkucka of Maffi Racing and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Payton Westcott.
Sebastian Wheldon: “It was a good race. The start was tricky, but by the second lap I was already up to third, then eventually P1. I made a move around the outside in Turn 8, I was late on the brakes and managed to pass on the outside. After the Safety Car, I had a good restart and looked ahead. [The key] was definitely getting the tyres warmed up, get a good start and don’t overdrive.”
Alex Powell: “It was really good. I had an unfortunate qualifying on Friday evening, which put me in a really compromised position. Yesterday was a decent race, but I’m happy to bounce back in this Race 3 and come home with the first podium of the year; it’s a good feeling. It’s no secret that we haven’t had the start that we expected, but this is the momentum that we need to really start our season well. It’s still a long way to go, you still have loads of races ahead, so this is a good starting point for us to move forward.”
Maksimilian Popov: “The first laps were crazy, full of battles. I dropped to eighth, but then took advantage of a few incidents and climbed back up to fifth. In the end, I made two nice overtakes and finished third. It was a really good race, the pace wasn’t bad, and I’m happy with the result: a podium and important points for us.”