Rivera claims maiden Spielberg victory as Ugochukwu finishes second to strengthen championship lead
Campos Racing enjoyed another outstanding weekend as the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season reached its fourth round at the Red Bull Ring. Ernesto Rivera, the only one of the team’s three drivers yet to win in the category, secured his maiden FIA Formula 3 victory in Spielberg. The Mexican, a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, starred in Saturday’s Sprint Race and became the championship’s newest race winner in only his third FIA F3 appearance.
Ugo Ugochukwu completed another intelligent and consistent weekend, allowing him to strengthen his lead in the Drivers’ Championship. The American carefully managed his campaign and, after battling for victory on Sunday, produced a superb drive in the closing stages to secure a hard-fought second-place finish following a thrilling finale. Théophile Naël endured a more difficult weekend, with starting positions deep in the field proving costly in both races. Despite delivering two impressive recovery drives and setting the fastest lap on Sunday, the Frenchman narrowly missed out on a place inside the points-paying positions.
On Friday morning, Rivera and Naël set the fourth and fifth fastest times in Free Practice with laps of 1m22.594s and 1m22.646s respectively, while Ugochukwu recorded a 1m22.996s lap. Nevertheless, qualifying was always going to be crucial for the remainder of the weekend. In a highly challenging session due to traffic from the 30-car field around the short Red Bull Ring layout, Ugochukwu emerged as the best-placed Campos Racing driver with a lap of 1m21.745s. That time left him just 0.015s shy of pole position and secured a front-row start for Sunday’s Feature Race. Rivera also earned a front-row start for Saturday’s Sprint Race, as his lap of 1m22.082s placed him second on the reverse-grid starting order. Naël was one of the drivers most affected by the traffic, unable to put together his strongest sectors in a single lap. His best effort of 1m22.348s left him 24th on the grid for both races, underlining just how competitive the championship has become.
Saturday’s 21-lap Sprint Race began dramatically as contact at the front of the field approaching Turn 1 eliminated Freddie Slater and immediately brought out the Safety Car. Fortunately, all three Campos Racing drivers emerged unscathed, with Rivera running second, Ugochukwu 13th and Naël already having gained five positions by the end of the opening lap. Racing resumed on lap four and Ugochukwu soon moved ahead of Maciej Gładysz. A brief Virtual Safety Car period caused by debris on the circuit would prove to be the final interruption of the race. Rivera began applying pressure to leader James Wharton from lap eight onwards. The pair even made contact on lap 11, but the Mexican remained undeterred and continued searching for a way past. His persistence paid off on lap 14 when he finally completed the move. From there, Rivera expertly managed the race to the finish and, helped by a small mistake from his nearest challenger on the penultimate lap, crossed the line almost two seconds clear of the opposition to claim his maiden FIA Formula 3 victory. Ugochukwu’s late charge earned him ninth place and valuable points, while Naël recovered to finish 15th.
The Feature Race on Sunday offered the biggest points haul of the weekend over 26 laps. Ugochukwu made an excellent start and, thanks to superior traction exiting Turn 1, moved into the lead ahead of Hiyu Yamakoshi. Rivera was less fortunate, as an opening-lap incident dropped him to the back of the field. After three laps behind the Safety Car, the race resumed on lap four before another brief interruption under Virtual Safety Car conditions. Racing finally settled into rhythm on lap seven. Without the benefit of DRS while leading, Ugochukwu was first overtaken by Slater and later by Yamakoshi. The battle at the front remained extremely close, with several drivers separated by only tenths of a second. Ugochukwu reclaimed second place on lap 16 with a move on Yamakoshi at Turn 4 and shortly afterwards passed Slater at the same corner. However, DRS once again enabled Slater to fight back. During the exchange, contact damaged Ugochukwu’s front wing, costing him a winglet, and Noah Strømsted also moved ahead, relegating the Campos Racing driver to third. Refusing to give up, Ugochukwu delivered a sensational final lap, overtaking Slater after running side-by-side through three corners to reclaim second position at the chequered flag. Naël finished 16th, while Rivera crossed the line in 19th place.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Ugochukwu leads the standings with 78 points, holding a 16-point advantage over his closest rival. Despite a challenging weekend in Austria, Naël remains third with 52 points, while Rivera sits 11th with 26 points. In the Teams’ Championship, Campos Racing extended its lead to 47 points, having amassed 156 points so far this season.
The championship now heads straight to Silverstone, with the next round taking place next weekend.
