Enzo Deligny strengthened his 2026 F3 Championship campaign with two fifth-place finishes during a productive weekend for Van Amersfoort Racing in Barcelona.
The Frenchman secured fifth place in both the Sprint Race and Sunday’s Feature Race, adding another valuable haul of points to his season total. Consequently, he moved into sixth position in the Drivers’ Standings as the championship prepared to continue its European schedule.
Van Amersfoort Racing also enjoyed a strong team result on Sunday. Hiyu Yamakoshi finished second and claimed a place on the podium, while Bruno Del Pino joined Deligny inside the points. Therefore, all three drivers contributed to an encouraging Feature Race for the Dutch squad.
Deligny pleased with double top-five result at 2026 Barcelona F3 Round
Deligny expressed satisfaction after completing a weekend in which he repeatedly featured near the front of the field. Although he finished fifth in both races, he viewed the consistency as an important step in the right direction.
“I feel pretty good. It was definitely a good weekend. P5 was my result this weekend, so I locked it out for both races,” he said to Formula 3.
The two results gave Deligny a solid return from Barcelona and confirmed the progress he has made during the opening rounds of the campaign. Moreover, the points strengthened his position in the championship and gave him a useful platform ahead of the next phase of the season.
VAR improves from Practice to Qualifying
Van Amersfoort Racing initially took a measured approach during Practice. The team focused on improving the car throughout the session rather than chasing outright pace from the opening laps. That preparation paid off when all three drivers advanced into the top 12 in Qualifying.
“We did good in Practice. We did well, started a bit slower just to kind of make sure we would improve everything we could. And then the team knew how to make the switch into quali, and we all got into the top 12, which was crucial.
The team’s improvement highlighted its ability to respond as the weekend developed. However, Deligny believed he had enough speed to qualify higher than eighth.
Tyre warm-up limits Deligny’s F3 Qualifying result in Barcelona
Deligny showed front-running potential on his first set of tyres and briefly held third position. However, he struggled to prepare his second and third sets correctly. As a result, he could not extract the full performance from the car during the decisive stages of the session.
“For me, it was possible to do better than P8, because on the first set we were P3, and on the second and third sets the warm-up wasn’t ideal, so I wasn’t able to fully extract it in Qualifying, which meant we started a bit further back than we should have.
The missed opportunity left him with more work to do in the race. Nevertheless, Deligny responded strongly once the Feature Race began.
Strong race pace helps Deligny recover
Despite starting further back than he wanted, Deligny quickly demonstrated competitive race pace. He completed several overtakes and worked his way into fifth position. His recovery also reinforced his belief that VAR possessed one of the strongest race packages in the field.
“But today the race pace was really good, I think we were one of the quickest on track. We made a good couple of overtakes to finish fifth, and good points for the championship. P6 in the Standings right now is a good place to keep going into the European season.”
The result allowed Deligny to leave Barcelona with two top-five finishes and a stronger championship position.
Tyre management shapes the 2026 F3 Feature Race
Drivers faced a demanding strategic challenge during Sunday’s Feature Race. They needed to fight for position while also protecting the Pirelli tyres from excessive degradation.
Deligny watched several rivals push hard during the opening phase and noticed their cars beginning to slide. Therefore, he chose a more controlled approach and focused on staying within DRS range.
“I saw some others like Freddie and Rivera, they were pushing a lot at the start, and I could see them sliding, so I knew I just needed to stay with the DRS, save my tyres, and then I’ll get them at the end of the race, and that’s what happened.
That strategy allowed him to preserve performance for the closing stages. It also gave him the opportunity to attack drivers who had used more of their tyres earlier in the race.
Virtual Safety Car disrupts Deligny’s progress in the 2026 Barcelona F3 Feature Race
The Virtual Safety Car interrupted Deligny’s momentum and increased the gap to Brando Badoer ahead. Deligny then had to close the distance without DRS, while Badoer benefited from the tow behind Freddie Slater. Consequently, the Frenchman had to push harder than planned.
“Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time under the VSC, I don’t know why, but that meant the gap to Badoer doubled during the VSC, so I had to do the whole race trying to catch him without the DRS, which was very hard because he had the DRS to Freddie, so I had to push my tyres more.
The setback placed additional pressure on his tyres and reduced his chances of progressing further up the order.
Deligny closes in despite the setback
Although the Virtual Safety Car compromised his race, Deligny continued to reduce the gap. He eventually finished close behind Badoer and kept teammate Del Pino behind him.
“So it was a bit hard, but otherwise the pace was really good, and I managed to finish close behind him as well.”
His fifth-place finish completed another strong drive and helped VAR secure a triple-points result. Meanwhile, Yamakoshi led the team’s effort in second, while Deligny and Del Pino added further points in fifth and sixth.
VAR carries momentum towards Spielberg
The championship will next travel to Spielberg, where the Red Bull Ring will provide a different challenge. Its short lap and small number of corners often produce tight margins, especially in Qualifying. Therefore, small mistakes can have a major effect on grid position.
Deligny believes VAR already possesses the race pace required to challenge near the front. However, he identified Qualifying as the key area that the team must improve.
“I think if we just get Qualifying right, get a good lap on the last set in Quali, we see that we have the race pace.
A stronger starting position would reduce the need to recover places during the race and allow Deligny to challenge the leading group from the opening laps.
Podium becomes the next target
Deligny has drawn encouragement from VAR’s performances in Melbourne and Barcelona. On both weekends, the team showed enough race pace to move forward. Therefore, he believes a top-three or top-five Qualifying result could place him in contention for a podium.
“Both here and in Melbourne the race pace was really good, so we just need to try in quali, top three, top five would be better, and we for sure can get a podium from there.”
Deligny will now carry renewed confidence into Spielberg after completing his strongest and most consistent weekend of the season. Meanwhile, VAR will aim to build on its triple-points finish and convert its proven race pace into a stronger Qualifying performance at the Red Bull Ring.
