Ernesto Rivera claims stunning victory at Spa-Francorchamps
There can hardly be a more iconic venue to claim a maiden FIA Formula 3 Feature Race victory than Spa-Francorchamps. Ernesto Rivera chose exactly that stage to achieve the feat. Having already won the Sprint Race at Spielberg, the Mexican added an even more prestigious success in Belgium, confirming the immense talent of the Red Bull Junior Team driver. Around the legendary Ardennes circuit, Rivera displayed exceptional race management, tactical awareness and outright pace to deliver a truly memorable victory.
His success also strengthens Campos Racing's position at the top of the Teams' Championship while helping teammate Ugo Ugochukwu retain the lead in the Drivers' standings. Ugochukwu's hopes of fighting for the podium at Spa-Francorchamps were severely compromised by the series of penalties handed down by the Stewards following Friday's qualifying session, forcing him to start both races from further down the grid. Théophile Naël found himself in a similar situation, although the French driver still managed to collect valuable championship points in Saturday's Sprint Race.
Naël made an excellent start to the weekend by finishing second in Friday morning's Free Practice with a lap of 2m06.462s, just one and a half tenths shy of Freddie Slater's benchmark. It was an encouraging opening session overall for Campos Racing, with Rivera and Ugochukwu completing the top five in fourth and fifth places thanks to laps of 2m06.553s and 2m06.560s respectively.
The weekend then entered one of its most difficult moments during Friday afternoon's qualifying session. Heavy traffic and the constant battle to avoid giving rivals a tow created an extremely complicated scenario, with drivers reluctant to lead the pack. The result was congestion, several incidents and multiple red flags. At the end of the session Rivera emerged as Campos Racing's highest qualifier in fifth with a lap of 2m05.526s. Ugochukwu and Naël initially finished ninth and tenth with times of 2m05.905s and 2m05.928s respectively. However, the story was far from over. A lengthy series of Stewards' investigations continued well into the early hours of Saturday morning, ultimately resulting in penalties for almost half of the grid. Among those penalised were Ugochukwu and Naël. The American received three-place grid penalties for both races, while Naël was handed a five-place drop. As a consequence, Rivera was ultimately promoted from fifth to fourth in the final qualifying classification.
With the revised grids in place, Rivera lined up sixth for Saturday's Sprint Race, Naël eighth and Ugochukwu tenth. At lights out, the opening sector produced constant position changes, with Naël moving up to sixth while Rivera found himself involved in several battles through Les Combes. It was in that very section that Ugochukwu's hopes unraveled after contact with Slater sent the latter out of the race and triggered a Safety Car. Ugochukwu was forced to pit to repair the damage before rejoining the race. Following the restart on lap four, the battles resumed immediately. Despite the time lost in the pits, Ugochukwu demonstrated impressive pace by setting several consecutive fastest laps. Further ahead, Rivera overtook Tuukka Taponen along the Kemmel Straight to move into seventh before the two drivers exchanged positions on several occasions in an entertaining duel. Just ahead of them, Naël also found a way past Taito Kato to climb into fifth place. The Safety Car returned in the closing stages while marshals cleared debris from a trackside board. Racing resumed for just one final lap, during which both Naël and Rivera lost positions in the slipstream battles along Kemmel. Although Naël attempted to reclaim fifth from Kato into the Bus Stop Chicane, he ultimately secured valuable points by finishing sixth. Rivera crossed the line eighth, while Ugochukwu, after his earlier pit stop, finished down the order a lap behind.
Sunday morning brought another opportunity over fifteen laps on a cool Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Rivera made an excellent launch, drawing alongside Slater into La Source before battling Mattia Colnaghi through Eau Rouge. Ugochukwu climbed to eighth on the opening lap, with Naël running eleventh. Unfortunately, the Frenchman was forced into the pits after sustaining damage to both his front wing and a tyre during a hectic opening lap that also prompted an early Safety Car. When racing resumed two laps later, Rivera immediately launched his attack. He overtook Colnaghi on the Kemmel Straight to reclaim fourth place, while further behind Ugochukwu passed Christian Ho for ninth. Naël, meanwhile, began an impressive recovery drive from the back of the field. The star of the race, however, was undoubtedly Rivera. The Red Bull Junior Team driver outbraked Tuukka Taponen into Les Combes before setting his sights on Hiyu Yamakoshi. Minor contact between the pair damaged one of Rivera's front wing endplates, but it did little to slow his charge. On the following lap he overtook the Japanese driver to move into second place. Only Slater remained ahead. Rivera completed another decisive move along the Kemmel Straight to seize the lead and, thanks to his superior pace during the closing laps, immediately began to pull away. Shortly afterwards, Slater himself also lost second place to Yamakoshi. After fifteen superbly managed laps, Rivera crossed the finish line to claim a magnificent Feature Race victory. In the closing stages tyre degradation became a significant factor for many drivers, including Ugochukwu, who gradually slipped down the order. Naël eventually recovered to sixteenth place, while Ugochukwu finished twenty-first.
Three rounds now remain in the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season: Hungaroring, Monza and the newly announced triple-header at Madring. Following Spa-Francorchamps, Ugochukwu continues to lead the Drivers' Championship with 104 points. Naël remains third on 65 points, while Rivera makes the biggest leap, climbing to fifth in the standings with 56 points. In the Teams' Championship, Campos Racing further extends its advantage, now leading with 225 points, fifty-seven clear of its nearest rival.
There will be little time to rest before the next challenge, as the championship heads to the Hungaroring in just one week's time. The Hungarian circuit, often referred to as the "Monaco without walls", will provide the setting for yet another exciting chapter in the 2026 season.
