DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie says he is “super proud” after inheriting his maiden 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) victory in the Monaco Sprint Race, a result that also marked China’s first win in the championship.
The Chinese driver initially crossed the line in second place but was promoted to victory following the post-race disqualification of Hiyu Yamakoshi for a technical infringement.
Reflecting on the achievement, Xie said the result was a major milestone for both himself and Chinese motorsport.
“Super happy to get the team their first victory, my first victory, and China’s first victory in F3. We’re super proud.
“Being Chinese and stepping into this championship to be competing with the top 30 drivers in the feeder series is amazing. And doing that in Monaco is even more surreal.
“China is not a very big country in terms of motorsport. So to represent the country is an amazing feeling.”
The 18-year-old admitted he only discovered he had won the race when he arrived at the paddock on Sunday morning ahead of the Feature Race.
“Actually, when the results came out, I was already asleep. And then when I got up, I was like, okay, focus on today, and then I went into the team, and the team was like, congratulations! I was like, congratulations for what? That was quite funny.”
Xie hoping to carry momentum into the F3 Barcelona round
Despite qualifying sixth in his group in the 2026 F3 Monaco Qualifying session, Xie felt Monaco had been one of his strongest weekends of the season from the outset. The DAMS driver was immediately on the pace in Practice and believes a small mistake in Qualifying cost him an even better starting position.
“I’ve always enjoyed street circuits. And even from the first push in FP, we were right on the pace.
“In Qualifying, there was a bit of a mistake in the last sector. I touched the wall a bit after the swimming pool and lost a bit of time, but no, still good and still managed to get P6 in the group.”
With Formula 3 now heading to Barcelona, Xie is hoping to carry the momentum from Monaco into the next round. Having already tested at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya earlier this year, he is optimistic about DAMS’ chances of another strong weekend.
“From the pre-season tests, we look pretty good there overall. And I hope we can do pretty much the same or not even better.
“I mean, with both my teammates, we’ve been quite strong in Barcelona as well. Hopefully we’ll get more points for the team.”
