On the tight, unforgiving streets of Monte Carlo, Kiwi rising star Louis Sharp delivered a measured and determined drive to climb from 13th on the grid to a hard-earned ninth place, salvaging valuable points for Rodin Motorsport in a drama-filled Formula 3 Feature Race at the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix.
The weekend had begun with promise for the Rodin squad as rookie Roman Bilinski lit up the timing sheets in Group B qualifying, edging teammate Callum Voisin by just 0.027s to top the session and earn a front-row start alongside Group A pacesetter Nikola Tsolov of Campos Racing.
Sharp, meanwhile, found himself mired in the midfield after qualifying 13th, a challenging place to be on a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
As the lights went out on Sunday, pole-sitter Tsolov made no mistake at the launch, surging into the lead while Bilinski held station in second and Voisin battled Campos’ Mari Boya for third.
Sharp, however, lost ground off the line, slipping back to 14th as chaos unfolded further back.
A clash between Bruno Del Pino and Nicola Marinangeli sent the MP Motorsport driver into the pits for repairs just a few laps in. Thai driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak clocked the early fastest lap in clean air.
Up front, Tsolov looked composed. He gradually extended his lead over Bilinski beyond the crucial one-second margin to avoid DRS pressure, but Bilinski wasn’t done. On Lap 10, he reeled in Tsolov and set the race’s fastest lap to claw himself back into contention momentarily.
Behind them, Sharp was locked in a fierce scrap just outside the points, defending his position from AIX Racing’s Brad Benavides while trying to chase down MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti.
Mid-race attrition soon played into Sharp’s hands. A puncture for HiTech TGR’s Gerrard Xie and a pit lane retirement for DAMS’ Nicola LaCorte began to thin the field.
Then came the turning point: Noel León put his Prema car in the wall on Lap 18, triggering the race’s first Safety Car.
The restart on Lap 19 bunched up the pack and opened the door for opportunity. As Tsolov fended off renewed pressure from Bilinski, Sharp pounced, climbing to 10th. Moments later, chaos returned.
Charlie Wurz, nursing a suspected puncture, crashed out after failing to pit under Safety Car conditions, either through miscommunication or misjudgment, while Marinangeli punted Brando Badoer into the barriers.
Both incidents brought out another Safety Car and a 10-second penalty for the latter.
Another restart followed on Lap 24, but barely a sector into racing conditions, championship leader Rafael Câmara suffered a shocking failure, losing a rear wheel just before the pit entry.
Câmara managed to peel into the pits without causing another neutralisation, but his retirement gifted Sharp another position, promoting the Kiwi to ninth.
While Tsolov reasserted his dominance at the front, cruising to a commanding 7.243-second victory and sealing the Feature Race win, it was a banner day for Rodin Motorsport.
Bilinski crossed the line second to claim a breakthrough podium in just his rookie season, while Voisin secured fourth after a composed drive in the lead group.
Sharp’s climb to ninth may not have made headlines, but his ability to survive the mayhem, execute clean passes, and pick up two crucial championship points was a testament to his consistency and racecraft, hallmarks of a driver maturing in the cutthroat world of FIA Formula 3.
With Bilinski’s 18 points for second, Voisin’s 12 for fourth, and Sharp’s two for ninth, Rodin Motorsport walked away from Monaco with a healthy 32-point haul, cementing themselves as a force to be reckoned with as the season builds momentum.
For Sharp, it was a weekend that didn’t start as hoped but ended with points on the board, and in Monaco, that’s often the difference between a weekend to forget and one to build on.
Header Image: James Gasperotti Photography
