After carrying strong momentum out of Melbourne, Ugo Ugochukwu wasted no time getting back up to speed at Spielberg, ending the opening day of the in-season Formula 3 (F3) test at the top of the timesheets.
The American driver set a 1:20.368 in the morning session to finish fastest overall in the opening segment of the day, before ending the afternoon running eighth quickest as teams focused on longer runs and setup work around the Red Bull Ring.
Reflecting on his return to the Formula 3 car for the first time since Round 1 in Melbourne, Ugochukwu said it had been an encouraging first day back with Campos, especially after such a long break between events.
“It was a pretty positive first day back,” he said. “It was just nice to get back into the car, it’s been a long time since Melbourne, so just getting back into the groove this morning was really good.”
“Pace was really strong and I think the afternoon was pretty good as well. Learning a few new bits, trying stuff on the car to keep improving. Day one’s been pretty good and we’ll keep pushing on for day two.”
F3 in season testing at the Red Bull Ring
Campos headed into the Spielberg test aiming to continue the form they showed in Australia, and Ugochukwu felt the team had immediately managed to pick up where they left off.
With the opening day completed, the 19-year-old said the focus now shifts towards continuing to build performance ahead of Round 2 and the upcoming trip to Monte Carlo.
“The main thing was just getting back into it and then picking up from where we left off in Melbourne, which I think we did,” he explained. “We hit the ground running, and I think for the rest of the day, just trying a few new bits and see if we can find even more performance.”
Day 2 of testing at Spielberg
Looking ahead to the final day of F3 in season testing in Austria, Ugochukwu said the preparation done away from the circuit had already paid off, with both driver and team arriving ready to maximise every lap available.
He added that there was still more to come from the Campos package, particularly with qualifying simulations and race runs still to be completed on Day 2.
“It’s definitely good to be working with all the guys again,” he said. “Of course, we had our prep in the sim and in the workshop, but it’s always good to finally get on track and work together when it’s the real thing.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll try to learn a bit more, a few more new tyres to use up. So, a few more qualifying runs and then I’m sure it’ll be a bunch of race runs in the afternoon as well.”
“So, definitely a lot more laps we can get under our belt and more experience with the car always helps.”
