Théophile Naël triumphs at the Hungaroring as Ugo Ugochukwu and Ernesto Rivera also claim podium finishes
Campos Racing once again delivered an exceptional performance during the seventh round of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season at the Hungaroring. Théophile Naël secured his second victory of the campaign in Saturday's Sprint Race, where Ernesto Rivera also claimed his third podium finish of the season with third place. Sunday then belonged to Ugo Ugochukwu, who produced a superb recovery drive to finish second. Altogether, the results further consolidate the Alzira-based team's position at the top of the championship standings, with all three of its drivers firmly involved in the title battle.
Friday's action at what is often referred to as the "Monaco without walls" proved challenging from the outset. Red flags disrupted the Free Practice session and prevented teams from completing their planned programmes. Naël ended the session fifth fastest with a best lap of 1m34.397s, while Ugochukwu was eighth on a 1m34.522s. Rivera, making his first appearance at the Hungaroring, posted a best lap of 1m34.880s.
Qualifying took place later that afternoon in hot track conditions that demanded maximum tyre management. Naël briefly topped the timesheets with a lap of 1m33.533s, which ultimately remained his fastest effort. The session was incredibly close, with twenty-eight drivers covered by just seven tenths of a second. Ugochukwu secured sixth on the grid with a 1m33.524s, just ahead of Naël, while Rivera qualified eighth with a 1m33.553s.
Saturday's Sprint Race was the first major challenge of the weekend over 19 laps. With the reverse-grid format for the top twelve, Rivera led the Campos Racing charge from fifth on the grid ahead of Naël and Ugochukwu. At the start, several drivers fought aggressively for position. A three-car accident involving Gerrard Xie, Maciej Gladysz and Jin Nakamura eliminated all three, while Naël and Rivera successfully avoided the incident to complete the opening lap in second and third respectively. The Safety Car was immediately deployed while the damaged cars were recovered. Racing resumed after three laps under caution. During the opening phase, Naël remained close to leader Kanato Le, while Rivera patiently held position. Ugochukwu was one of the most aggressive drivers during the first half of the race, moving into sixth after passing Nicola Lacorte before overtaking Brando Badoer on lap eight to claim fifth. One lap later, Naël copied his teammate's move by passing Le at the end of the main straight to take the lead. From that point onwards, the Frenchman controlled the race with outstanding tyre management, gradually pulling away from Le in the closing stages before taking the chequered flag almost three seconds clear. Rivera finished third after successfully fending off repeated attacks from Mattia Colnaghi. Ugochukwu's race became more difficult towards the end as tyre degradation, combined with a five-second penalty, dropped him to seventeenth.
Sunday's Feature Race offered another opportunity for the Campos Racing trio, fully aware that tyre management would once again be decisive over the scheduled 24 laps. The opening lap featured intense midfield battles, with Ugochukwu and Naël running side by side through several corners while trying to gain positions. At the end of the first lap, they had each gained one place and were running fifth and sixth respectively. The Safety Car was deployed on lap two after Gladysz and Xie crashed into the barriers. Racing resumed four laps later before a brief Virtual Safety Car period neutralised the field while a stranded car was removed. On lap nine, Ugochukwu began his charge. After setting the fastest lap of the race at that stage, he attacked Badoer and Colnaghi from fourth place. With a brilliant move around the outside of Turn 2 on lap ten, he overtook both drivers to move into second behind Freddie Slater. Ugochukwu remained glued to the leader until another Safety Car intervention on lap fifteen following an incident at the end of the main straight. Racing resumed with seven laps remaining, and the American immediately resumed the pressure on Slater. However, with both drivers showing almost identical pace, any overtaking attempt proved extremely difficult and risky, forcing Ugochukwu to settle for a valuable second place at the finish. Naël crossed the line in fifth after holding off Tuukka Taponen, but was later handed two time penalties for separate incidents involving the Finnish driver at Turn 1, dropping him to twentieth in the final classification. Rivera finished sixth.
Ugochukwu now sits second in the Drivers' Championship with 122 points, just eight behind Slater. Naël remains third on 75 points, while Rivera stays fifth with 70 points, just one point shy of fourth place. In the Teams' Championship, Campos Racing further extends its advantage at the top of the standings and now leads the table with 269 points.
The FIA Formula 3 season now enters its summer break, although teams will return to action for two days of testing at the brand-new Madring circuit on 24-25 August. The championship resumes on 5-6 September at Monza before concluding with the season finale at Madring, which will feature a three-race format.
