The finale of the 2026 Formula 3 season kicked off around the brand new Madring circuit. Hosting a triple race weekend, the new circuit will set the scene for the title fight with four drivers still in contention.
A challenging double qualifying session on Friday would see Taito Kato and Tuukka Tapponen take pole position for Saturday and Sunday’s feature races. However, it was PREMA’s James Wharton who would lead the field away for the first race around this demanding circuit.
Championship leader Freddie Slater would start in a lowly 17th after a tricky first qualifying session. The Audi backed driver’s closest contender Ugo Ugochukwu would line up in 9th after the grid was reversed.
Racing around Madrid
As the lights went out for the first time, it would be Theophile Nael who would take the lead. The Campos driver got a good launch off the line, surging past the PREMA. Behind, Wharton would try to get his lead back using the power of the tow. However, after slightly overshooting his braking, the Australian would have to concede the position to the Frenchman.
There was good early racepace from Nael saw him break DRS as teammate Ugochuckwu began his attack from P9. Further back, Slater would struggle slightly. The Brition dropped a place on lap one and finding himself under pressure from Maciej Gladysz.
With the Madring being a brand new track, it was a journey into the unknown for everyone. With many expecting that overtaking would be challenging. As the race settled into its flow, the expectations would come to fruition. Across the Madring, overtaking possibilities seemed few and far between.
Settling into the race
The top three of Nael, Wharton and Alex Powell began to pull away from the chasing pack. Home hero Bruno Del Pino and Williams Academy driver Alessandro Giusti engaged in their own battle for fourth place. At the back end of the points, Ugochuckwu would find himself losing DRS to Jin Nakamura. Behind him, Sunday’s pole sitter Taponen was looking to gain valuable points.
Kato would find his way past Taponen on lap 12. The Japanese driver slotted himself into the points after the pair dropped slightly off the back of Ugochuckwu. The Americans had to close up to the back of Nakamura as the race reached its closing stages.
Our front Nael would have a comfortable lead as he continued to set fastest laps with a five second gap back to P2. A 10 second penalty for Enzo Deligny for leaving the track and gaining an advantage would inevitably see the VAR driver fall out of the points come the end of the race.
A league of his own
As the checkered flag fell, It would be a dominant win for Nael. The Campos driver crossed the line a whopping 8.9 seconds ahead of the rest, propelling himself into P3 in the championship. A double podium for Prema Racing as Wharton and Powell crossed the line in 2nd and 3rd, a first F3 podium for Powell in only his second F3 weekend.
The rest of the points would be closed out by Del Pino, Giusti, Ernesto Rivera, Nakamura, Ugochuckwu, Kato and Taponen. A tough race for Slater would see his championship lead come down to 12 points after the Brit failed to score points finishing in P18.
With two 25 point feature races to come, the championship is far from over. However, Ugochukwu is set to start from P4 and P2 in comparison to Slaters P17 and P8. Everything points to the American driver having the advantage as Formula 3 reaches its closing stages for 2026.
F3 returns to the track today at 6pm for the first of two features races where ART’s Kato will lead the grid away.
Feature Image Credit: Formula 3