Taito Kato and ART Grand Prix ended the 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) in-season Spielberg test on top overall, with the Japanese driver setting the fastest lap of the two-day test during Day 2’s morning session around the Red Bull Ring.
Kato’s benchmark time of 1:20.297 remained unbeaten across the day, while Brad Benavides topped the afternoon running for AIX Racing with a 1:21.092.
Spielberg Morning Session: Kato leads disrupted F3 morning session
The morning session immediately saw drivers head out to continue gathering valuable mileage ahead of the upcoming Monaco round. Freddie Slater initially set the early pace in the 1:21s before teammate Noah Strømsted continued TRIDENT’s strong test form from Day 1, moving to the top with a 1:21.585.
Strømsted quickly improved again to a 1:20.832 before the first Red Flag interrupted proceedings, with Kato stopping on track in his ART Grand Prix machinery.
Once the session resumed, Strømsted lowered the benchmark even further with a 1:20.336. However, interruptions continued throughout the session, with further Red Flags caused by Woohyun Shin stopping on circuit for Hitech and Brando Badoer spinning off at the final corner.
After recovering from his earlier stoppage, Kato returned to the track and delivered what would become the fastest lap of the entire test, a 1:20.297. Louis Sharp then moved PREMA Racing into second, before another Red Flag halted running when teammate James Wharton stopped on track.
No further improvements arrived in the closing stages, leaving Kato fastest overall ahead of Sharp and Strømsted. Tuukka Taponen, Slater, Pedro Clerot, Hiyu Yamakoshi, Badoer, Enzo Deligny and Maciej Gładysz completed the morning top 10.
Morning Session Results
- Taito Kato – 1:20.297
- Louis Sharp – 1:20.322
- Noah Strømsted – 1:20.336
- Tuukka Taponen – 1:20.411
- Freddie Slater – 1:20.427
- Pedro Clerot – 1:20.495
- Hiyu Yamakoshi – 1:20.501
- Brando Badoer – 1:20.607
- Enzo Deligny – 1:20.649
- Maciej Gładysz – 1:20.657
- Nicola Lacorte – 1:20.671
- Bruno Del Pino – 1:20.704
- Théophile Naël – 1:20.820
- James Wharton – 1:20.843
- Matteo de Palo – 1:20.845
- Jin Nakamura – 1:20.846
- Fionn McLaughlin – 1:20.857
- Mattia Colnaghi – 1:20.873
- Brad Benavides – 1:20.899
- Ugo Ugochukwu – 1:20.900
- José Garfias – 1:20.937
- Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi – 1:20.943
- Ernesto Rivera – 1:20.948
- Alessandro Giusti – 1:21.013
- Kanato Le – 1:21.057
- Yevan David – 1:21.125
- Woohyun Shin – 1:21.143
- Genaro Trappa – 1:21.261
- Gerrard Xie – 1:21.323
- Fernando Barrichello – 1:21.376
Afternoon Session: Benavides fastest in the afternoon
The 2026 F3 Spielberg testing afternoon session began with Benavides immediately taking control of the timesheets for AIX Racing. The American continuously improved his own benchmark lap before settling on a 1:21.092, which remained unbeaten for the rest of the session.
As the afternoon progressed, many teams shifted focus towards longer race simulations and tyre management work rather than outright pace.
Badoer moved into second place late in the session, finishing just 0.037s behind Benavides, while Genaro Trappa secured third for Rodin Motorsport.
Slater and Fernando Barrichello completed the top five for TRIDENT and AIX Racing respectively, while Yevan David finished sixth.
Van Amersfoort Racing remained busy throughout the afternoon, with Yamakoshi completing the highest lap tally of the session with 66 laps completed.
Yamakoshi ultimately ended the afternoon in P7, ahead of Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi, Jin Nakamura and Théophile Naël, who rounded out the top 10 for Campos Racing.
Attention now turns to Round 2 of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season in Monte Carlo from June 4-7.
Afternoon Session Results
- Brad Benavides – 1:21.092
- Brando Badoer – 1:21.129
- Genaro Trappa – 1:21.894
- Freddie Slater – 1:22.391
- Fernando Barrichello – 1:22.614
- Yevan David – 1:23.040
- Hiyu Yamakoshi – 1:23.156
- Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi – 1:23.203
- Jin Nakamura – 1:23.250
- Théophile Naël – 1:23.295
- Nicola Lacorte – 1:23.362
- Gerrard Xie – 1:23.372
- Woohyun Shin – 1:23.417
- José Garfias – 1:23.418
- Ugo Ugochukwu – 1:23.431
- Mattia Colnaghi – 1:23.476
- Pedro Clerot – 1:23.506
- Alessandro Giusti – 1:23.533
- Maciej Gładysz – 1:23.535
- Tuukka Taponen – 1:23.585
- Matteo De Palo – 1:23.588
- Noah Strømsted – 1:23.597
- James Wharton – 1:23.613
- Ernesto Rivera – 1:23.626
- Enzo Deligny – 1:23.656
- Taito Kato – 1:23.722
- Fionn Mclaughlin – 1:23.888
- Kanato Le – 1:23.944
- Bruno Del Pino – No Time (Lap times deleted – Technical regulations infringement)
- Louis Sharp – No time (Lap times deleted – Falling to comply with the tyre allocation)
