Victory and podium finish for Ugo Ugochukwu at Silverstone. Naël also steps onto the podium
The fifth round of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season, held this weekend at Silverstone, delivered another victory for Campos Racing. This time, the honours belonged to Ugo Ugochukwu, who claimed victory in Saturday’s Sprint Race. Another podium followed on Sunday, his fifth of the season, despite starting from further down the order. A chaotic race combined with the American’s trademark consistency enabled him to secure another strong result. Théophile Naël also made it onto the podium, although it could have been a double podium weekend for the Frenchman had he not received a penalty. Another penalty similarly prevented Ernesto Rivera, the young Red Bull Junior Team talent, from standing on the podium on Sunday.
During Friday morning’s free practice session, Campos Racing’s drivers quickly discovered that the circuit still had considerable room for improvement as more rubber was laid down. Rivera topped the timesheets after fifteen laps, setting the fastest time of 1m46.319s. Naël and Ugochukwu also demonstrated strong pace from the outset, finishing fifth and seventh respectively. The Frenchman recorded a best lap of 1m46.688s, while the American posted a 1m46.724s effort.
Qualifying, held during the hottest part of the afternoon, would determine the grids for both races. With drivers needing to extract the maximum performance from the hard-compound tyres, lap times steadily improved throughout the session. In the end, despite numerous laps being deleted for track limits infringements, Naël came agonisingly close to pole position, finishing second with a final lap of 1m45.880s. Rivera also delivered an outstanding performance to qualify fourth with a time of 1m45.906s. Ugochukwu ultimately secured twelfth position with a lap of 1m46.218s, which also handed him pole position for Saturday’s reverse-grid Sprint Race.
As soon as the lights went out for Saturday morning’s Sprint Race, Ugochukwu made an excellent start to retain the lead, while Naël also gained positions in the opening metres to move into eighth place. The Frenchman continued his charge by overtaking Fionn McLaughlin on lap three. Up front, Ugochukwu kept Yevan David within range until lap seven, when he began to increase his pace and quickly moved out of DRS range. By lap ten of the scheduled eighteen, Naël had gained two more places by passing Maciej Gladysz and James Wharton, moving up to fifth and firmly entering the battle for the podium. At that stage, Ugochukwu had already opened up a seven-second advantage over David and continued to extend his lead all the way to the finish. Naël’s next target was Matteo De Palo, whom he overtook on lap fourteen with a superb move at Brooklands. However, with David effectively creating a train behind him, positions remained far from settled. As the chequered flag approached, Ugochukwu crossed the finish line to secure his second victory of the season. The American also claimed the additional point for fastest lap, while his winning margin of 17.023 seconds became the largest in FIA Formula 3 history. Behind him, the battle was much closer. In a sensational final lap, Naël overtook both De Palo and Noah Strømsted through the final corners to secure third place on the podium. Rivera, who spent much of the race involved in a hard-fought battle with Freddie Slater, ultimately finished fourteenth.
Sunday’s Feature Race, reduced to 21 laps after two formation laps, provided a spectacular finale to the weekend. Naël made an excellent start and nearly passed Slater for the lead, but the latter closed the door at the last moment. After the opening lap, Naël was running second, while Rivera and Ugochukwu occupied sixth and tenth respectively. Aware that many laps still remained, the leading drivers were reluctant to push too hard in the early stages. Ugochukwu overtook David for ninth place on lap three, while Rivera soon passed Gladysz at the Vale chicane. As the race approached its halfway point, Naël was running third behind Slater and De Palo, but the top nine drivers were covered by less than five seconds. To add even more drama, the safety car was deployed with three laps remaining after a car stopped on track. The race would be restarted for a single final lap. In a thrilling sprint to the finish, Naël overtook Slater and crossed the line in second place. However, he was later handed a ten-second penalty for exceeding track limits while defending against Louis Sharp earlier in the race. Rivera initially inherited the podium position, but the Mexican driver was also penalised, receiving a five-second penalty for weaving before the restart between Turns 14 and 15. After no fewer than nine drivers received penalties and one competitor was excluded, Ugochukwu was ultimately classified third. Despite his penalty, Rivera still secured the point awarded for tenth place as well as the bonus point for fastest lap. Naël was ultimately classified fourteenth.
With four rounds remaining, Ugochukwu leads the Drivers’ Championship on 104 points, holding an 18-point advantage over Slater. Naël remains third with 60 points, while Rivera sits eleventh with 28 points. In the Teams’ standings, Campos Racing continues to lead comfortably with 192 points, giving the Spanish squad a 42-point advantage over Trident.
The FIA Formula 3 paddock now heads to Spa-Francorchamps for the next round of the season on 18-19 July.
