The 2026 F3 Championship continues at Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend, where Campos Racing driver Ernesto Rivera will look to build on a promising debut in the series.
After missing the opening round in Australia through injury, Rivera made his FIA Formula 3 debut in Monaco and quickly found his rhythm around the iconic street circuit. With valuable race mileage now under his belt, he heads to Barcelona seeking another strong weekend.
Rivera sets clear goals for 2026 Barcelona F3 Round
Having completed his first F3 weekend and gained valuable experience in Monaco, Rivera now arrives in Barcelona with a clearer understanding of what he wants to achieve. The Campos Racing driver enters the weekend encouraged by his performance in Monte Carlo and focused on building another strong foundation from the opening session onwards. Rather than concentrating solely on the final result, he emphasised the importance of putting together a complete and well-executed weekend.
“Yeah, a successful weekend for me, I think, is to [have] a clean weekend. Same as Monaco, to have built the pace up since FP, then have a clean Qualifying and good two races. And I think it would be good to finish with a podium.”
Monaco the long-awaited return to racing
Rivera also looked back on the injury lay-off that delayed the start of his 2026 campaign. The Campos Racing driver suffered the injury during the final race weekend of the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy (CTFROT), forcing him to spend almost four months away from competitive racing and miss the opening F3 round in Australia.
“Yeah, it was a long time with no racing. It was almost 120 days without any racing. So yeah, it’s great to be back. I definitely got bored doing nothing, especially the first weeks of the injury because I was just in my bed. I couldn’t do much.”
After almost a quarter of a year without racing, Rivera returned to action in Monaco. The weekend also presented two major new challenges, as it marked both his first appearance in F3 and his first experience of racing on a street circuit.
Looking back on the event, Rivera admitted he arrived without expectations and was surprised by how competitive he proved to be.
“And yeah, Monte Carlo went very good, it was my first time on a street circuit, and I also was surprised with myself with how good I did. But I honestly came to the weekend with no expectations, as it was my first race in F3 and also my first time in a street circuit.”
Monaco therefore marked an important milestone in Rivera’s season, serving as both his return to competition after injury and the start of his F3 career.
Trusting the preparation away from the track
However, returning from injury at Monaco presented a considerable challenge. However, Rivera credited his preparation away from the circuit for helping him navigate the weekend successfully.
“It was quite tough, especially after missing the first round. It was tough because it’s Monaco obviously, but I prepared myself as much as possible — a lot of sim, and I just trusted the preparation going into there. And yeah, it was quite a clean weekend.”
Simulation work played an important role in ensuring he arrived ready for the demands of Monaco. The result was a composed weekend that allowed him to gain confidence and valuable mileage after spending months on the sidelines.
Barcelona brings a familiar circuit but different challenges
While Monaco required drivers to adapt to a unique environment, Barcelona presents a different challenge altogether. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is one of the most frequently used venues in junior single-seater racing, meaning the entire field arrives with extensive experience of the track.
Rivera acknowledged that familiarity makes the competition even closer.
“Yeah, as Pedro [Clerot] said, pretty much all the feeder series drives here — F4, FREC, Eurocup — so all the drivers know this track really good. Almost everyone can call it a home track because we’ve done so many laps here. And yeah, it’s tricky because the tyre is so tricky here, and you only get three pushes in Qualifying and almost every time, the last push is the quickest, so your weekend comes to the last push of Qualifying. And yeah, that’s the toughest part about it.”
As Rivera explained, tyre management often becomes the deciding factor around Barcelona, particularly in Qualifying where drivers have limited opportunities to extract the maximum performance from their tyres.
Tyre degradation creates opportunities
The challenges do not end after Qualifying. Rivera also highlighted the role tyre degradation plays during the races at Barcelona.
“And also, the races are quite fun because there’s some degradation. So, towards the end of the races, there’s a lot of mess because some guys drop, and yeah, it’s a fun race.”
The circuit’s abrasive characteristics frequently produce changing race dynamics as tyre performance evolves throughout a stint. As a result, drivers must carefully balance pace and tyre preservation across both races.
Rivera aiming to keep building F3 momentum in Barcelona
Rivera arrives in Barcelona encouraged by his first F3 weekend and focused on continuing his development after a lengthy absence from competition.
His objectives are clear: build pace throughout the weekend, execute a clean Qualifying session, deliver two strong races and challenge for a podium finish. With Monaco now behind him, Barcelona offers the next opportunity for Rivera to measure his progress in the 2026 F3 Championship.
