Yamakoshi disqualified from the 2026 F3 Monaco GP; several drivers also handed post-sprint penalties

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Post-race drama continued long after the chequered flag in Monaco, with multiple penalties issued following Saturday’s 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) Sprint Race, including the disqualification of race winner Hiyu Yamakoshi.

Post-race scrutineering revealed that Hiyu Yamakoshi’s car did not comply with the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Technical Regulations, leading the Stewards to strip the Van Amersfoort Racing driver of his Sprint Race victory.

The FIA Technical Delegate referred Car 14 to the Stewards after discovering that VAR had fitted the left-hand front push rod on the right-hand side of the car and the right-hand front push rod on the left-hand side.

After hearing from a VAR representative, the Stewards confirmed that the team had installed the components incorrectly, breaching Articles 1.5.3 and 17.1 of the FIA Formula 3 Technical Regulations. They subsequently disqualified Yamakoshi from the Sprint Race classification.

The disqualification promotes DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie to victory, handing the Chinese driver his first Formula 3 win. VAR’s Bruno del Pino moves up to second place, while Rodin Motorsport’s Pedro Clerot inherits the final podium position in third.

Several drivers penalised following incident’s during the F3 Sprint Race in Monaco

Several other drivers were handed penalties following investigations into incidents during the 2026 F3 Monaco Sprint.

TRIDENT’s Matteo De Palo received a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 1 on the opening lap. The Stewards determined that he overtook AIX Racing’s Yevan David after running off track and failed to give the position back. The penalty drops De Palo to 14th in the final classification.

Enzo Deligny also received a 10-second penalty after the Stewards determined that he gained an advantage by leaving the track at Turn 1 and rejoining ahead of both Yevan David and Jose Garfias. The VAR driver picked up a further sanction after a team member touched his car in the fast lane following the display of the 15-second signal. As Deligny could not serve the resulting Stop & Go penalty during the race, officials converted it into a 30-second time penalty. Together, the penalties drop the Frenchman to 23rd in the final classification.

The Stewards issued identical penalties to DAMS driver Nicola Lacorte. They found that the Italian gained an advantage by leaving the track at Turn 1, overtaking Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi, and failing to hand the position back. Lacorte also breached pit lane procedures when a team member touched his car after the 15-second signal had been shown. Officials converted his Stop & Go penalty into a 30-second time penalty, which drops him to 22nd in the revised results.

Benavides sustained injury due to contact in the Sprint

The Stewards also penalised AIX Racing’s Brad Benavides for causing the Lap 1 collision at Turn 6 involving himself, Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi and Christian Ho. After reviewing video evidence, they determined that Benavides had caused the incident and held him wholly responsible. As the American retired from the race, officials converted the standard 10-second time penalty into a five-place grid drop for the next Feature Race in which he competes. However, Benavides has since withdrawn from the remainder of the Monaco weekend due to injuries sustained in the crash.

The Stewards also found MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen responsible for a separate Turn 6 incident on the opening lap involving Ernesto Rivera. They determined that Taponen had not achieved sufficient overlap at corner entry and therefore had not earned the right to the corner. Following his retirement from the race, officials converted his 10-second time penalty into a five-place grid drop for the next Feature Race.

Driver’s also received penalties from before the race restart

The Stewards also handed penalties to several drivers for breaches of Article 43.5 of the FIA Formula 3 Sporting Regulations relating to race restart pit lane procedures prior to the F3 Monaco Sprint.

Fernando Barrichello, Woohyun Shin, Yevan David and Louis Sharp each received a Stop & Go penalty after team personnel remained in contact with their cars after the 15-second signal had been displayed, while the drivers failed to restart from the pit lane as required by the regulations.

As none of the four drivers could serve their penalties during the race, officials converted each Stop & Go penalty into a 30-second time penalty and added it to their final race times.

The sanctions see Sharp classified 17th, Shin 18th, Barrichello 20th and David 21st in the revised results.

Following all post-race penalties and Yamakoshi’s disqualification, the final Sprint Race classification has undergone significant changes, with Xie officially inheriting victory in Monte Carlo.