Madrid Masterclass: Ugochukwu Triumphs in F3 Title Showdown

The Madring weekend saw a title fight that went down to the final race, a fierce battle for first place in the FIA Formula 3 Championship between Trident rookie Freddie Slater and Campos Racing's Ugo Ugochukwu. At a demanding circuit with certainly zero margin for error, Ugochukwu’s second place finish in the final race of the season was enough to secure him the championship.

Ahead of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season finale at the newly constructed Madring circuit, we heard from championship contenders: Freddie Slater (Trident), Ugo Ugochukwu and Ernesto Rivera (Campos Racing) during the press conference reflecting on their campaigns so far this season and their expectations of the circuit. So with the championship fight coming to a close, it’s lights out for the final time in 2026 for Formula 3.

Street Circuit: Views and Criticisms

When it came to discussing their opinions on the track following 19 red flags in testing, Slater commented that “a street track will always be difficult and I’ve heard a lot of criticism… but I think all the street tracks are like that and bring that sort of risk to the track. For me it’s one of the most enjoyable tracks to drive.” To add to Slater’s point Ugochukwu pointed out that the Madrid circuit has “less room for mistakes so it’s about finding more time.” Rivera agrees with Slater and his teammate about the difficulty of the track but that it will ultimately be an exciting circuit to race on.

Ugochukwu mentioned that “I think in the test, we [Campos Racing] were pretty clean and had no encounters with the wall so we will try to keep it the same way over the race weekend”, suggesting the team has confidence for their final home race of the season.

Teammates to Rivals

All three drivers started the season as teammates for the M2 Competition team for the 2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy and now over seven months later are going head-to-head in the championship fight, with only 15 points separating Slater and Ugochukwu as we head into this weekend. The Briton and American reflected on how each of them had evolved since then. “We’ve been in this position before, last weekend fighting in the championship so I guess we have both experienced this situation” Ugochukwu stated before adding that there are some things he has learnt throughout the year and that he’ll take onto next year and throughout his career.

Slater commented that “it has been really enjoyable and to spot ourselves in another opportunity to win the championship, in my career is very special.” Having come into Formula 3 with Trident as a rookie, Slater has risen up the ranks showing remarkable performances over the season with multiple podiums, his consistent results have led to him being the leading contender for the title fight. The Trident driver noted that “it’s been a really productive season and I have definitely developed a lot as a driver and matured.” He acknowledged that what he has learnt over the last few months will help him in his future.

With both drivers having concurred that racing alongside each other since the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy has been a learning curve, they can take this into the final race weekend of the year and have a championship fight that goes directly down to the wire.

The New Race Format: What do Drivers Really Think?

With the format for Madrid consisting of a sprint race and two feature races, will this make any difference to the drivers' views and preparations going into this weekend? Ugochukwu stated that “not much changes in terms of preparation especially on the Friday however maybe later in the day on Saturday some rubber may be laid down but ultimately we will have to adapt to whatever the track brings.”

Slater added that Madrid will be “a very exciting weekend, we get to do more laps and these cars are really good fun to drive so it’s super special to get to do more laps than normal.” In terms of preparation for the races there is some disagreement between Ugochukwu and Slater as the Campos Racing driver believes there won’t be much change but Slater comments on the fact that “for the team it will be a big change, much longer days and they have a number of things to do before the cars fire up so there is more pressure on their side of things.”

Even with a slightly different race format Rivera will choose to treat this as “a normal F3 weekend” but speaks about how there is “more tension and pressure as there are more points available and especially with the fight for P3” which sees about 13 other drivers in contention for third place in the championship.

Zero Margin for Error on the Streets of Madrid

With an intense qualifying over at the Madring we see two different pole sitters for each of the feature races. It was Taito Kato who set some of the fastest sectors during the first qualifying session and took his first pole position, getting ahead of Pedro Clerot and Tuukka Taponen. Race stewards had noted an incident between Slater and Giusti during the session but there was no further investigation of the matter. The championship leader was pushing the limits of the car as hard as he could but ultimately there were issues with the rear right tyre so the Trident driver boxed for hard tyres, went back out, only making it to P16 for the first feature race and sprint start.

SLICKS Mag heard from Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix), Pedro Clerot (Rodin Motorsport) and Tuukka Taponen (MP Motorsport) following qualifying. Clerot commented with the qualifying sessions being slightly longer than usual that “it’s hot here in Madrid and of course it makes everything harder and a bit more physical and the track is also a bit physical.” especially with the 22-turn circuit having a 24% gradient on the banking at La Monumental. Taponen and Kato agreed that difficulty due to the physical demand of the Madring. Throughout the sprint and feature races we will fully find out just how little room for error there is on the streets of Madrid.

Qualifying 2 started off with championship leader Freddie Slater setting purple sectors on his flying lap, but the issues from the first session were ongoing leaving the Briton finishing the session in eighth. Putting it on pole for the second feature race was Tuukka Taponen, putting a difference of less than +0.025s between himself and championship contender Ugo Ugochukwu and starting third for Race 2 was Pedro Clerot.

Ahead of the race we heard from the top 3 drivers from qualifying session 2, Tuukka Taponen (MP Motorsport), Ugo Ugochukwu (Campos Racing) and Pedro Clerot (Rodin Motorsport). Ugochukwu reflected on his mindset heading into the final races and the fight for the championship and how it would be beneficial for him to have two or even three clean races to “pick up points along the way and hopefully get another championship under our belt.” Rodin’s Pedro Clerot spoke about his final quarter of the session where he was “losing a bit of grip throughout the lap” and then “losing the rear of the car in the final sector” not the end to his qualifying the Brazilian necessarily wanted but it will be a third place start for him in the second race nonetheless.

Inaugural Madring Sprint: Team Supremacy on the Streets of Spain

With the sprint seeing the reversal of the top-12 in the first qualifying session, PREMA Racing’s James Wharton was starting on pole alongside Théophile Naël on the front row. Prior to the start, there were already issues for Kanato Le with the wheel shroud not present. On the start, Naël managed to take the lead from Wharton while Powell in third was defending from Giusti behind him. The second lap saw yellow flags waved for debris on the track but it was back to green without any further intervention. Race control had noted Deligny leaving the track and gained an advantage at Turn 5. Following investigation, Deligny was handed a 10-second time penalty which promoted Ugochukwu into eighth, allowing the American to gain vital points for the championship fight.

For the first time at the Madring, it was Théophile Naël who saw the chequered flag first, his third victory in FIA Formula 3, and a victory that Campos Racing will remember for time to come. Wharton ended the race with a podium finish in P2 and only in his second weekend racing in Formula 3, Alex Powell took his first podium of the series.

With Slater unable to make it up to the points-paying positions, Ugochukwu starts to close the gap with only 12 points separating the two drivers ahead of the first feature race of the weekend.

Chaos Unfolds In Madrid: Teams Champion Crowned

Kato started the first feature race at the Madring on pole but in the first corner it was Clerot that got ahead. The first lap sees a huge incident as the Van Amersfoorts of Deligny and Del Pino collide causing road block and a pile up for a number of cars including, Gładysz, Garfias, Shin, Barrichello and McLaughlin. Yellow flags were waved but then the race was stopped under red flag conditions. Race control had noted the incident at Turn 7 between the Van Amerfoort drivers and the race was to resume at 18:35 local time. Stewards noted that there would be no further investigation for the incident between Deligny and Del Pino. Under investigation however was Lacorte for speeding in the pitlane, the DAMS Lucas Oil driver was handed a 5-second time penalty.

The safety car led the cars back out for a rolling start, with Clerot then Kato and Taponen top 3. Clerot put pedal to the metal to get the race back underway, extending the gap between himself and Kato. Ugochukwu was putting pressure on Taponen in front of him, the Campos Racing driver wanting to make his way up to the final podium place.

Slater towards the rear of the field was right behind Yamakoshi, pushing the car to its absolute limit, going off at Turn 19, the championship leader out of the race. With the safety car out, the grid was neutralised and with two laps behind the safety car, racing got back underway on Lap 12.

From the restart until the end of the race, it was Clerot who held on at the front and crossed the line victorious, securing his maiden Formula 3 victory making him the 14th different race winner this season, with Kato in second and Taponen rounding off the podium places.

Ugochukwu finished the first feature race in fourth which proved vital in the championship because with Slater not finishing, the two contenders for the championship are now tied on points with 141 each. This now means that if neither driver finishes in the points on Sunday's feature race that Ugochukwu will be crowned champion, with the American driver holding one more feature race than Slater. Back to back team championship titles were claimed for Campos Racing and on home soil.

Down to the Wire: The Title Fight

Taponen took pole for the second feature race with championship leader Ugochukwu starting alongside him on the front row. The lights went out and it was time for the race to the flag, Taponen got an exceptional start off of the line, keeping Ugochukwu at bay. Slater tried to make a move on Yevan David near Turn 2 but was unable to, which let David pull ahead. Slater’s Trident got back ahead of David for eighth as yellow flags were out for Bhirombhakdi but no further intervention was needed. Naël would be getting investigated after the race for leaving the track without a justifiable reason.

Yamakoshi started to drop down the order, with the race under yellow flag conditions and the safety car deployed, the grid was neutralised. It was time for a one lap shoot out to the end, Taponen leading into the first corner with Ugochukwu just behind him. Taponen crosses the line as the first Finnish driver to win a Formula 3 race.

Ugochukwu crossed the line in second, gaining enough points to win the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2026 making him the first American driver in history to do so. Campos Racing have done the double winning the team and drivers championship, the first time since PREMA Racing in 2020.