Enzo Deligny believes Van Amersfoort Racing has the race pace to fight for a podium at the 2026 Formula 3 (F3) Spielberg Round at the Austrian GP, as he looks to build on his strongest weekend of the season in Barcelona.
Deligny secured fifth place in both races at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Frenchman ran inside the leading group throughout Saturday’s Sprint Race and eventually led home a trio of Van Amersfoort Racing cars in fifth, ahead of Bruno del Pino and Hiyu Yamakoshi.
He repeated that result in Sunday’s Feature Race. Deligny overtook Ernesto Rivera after a Virtual Safety Car restart before passing Freddie Slater and del Pino during the closing stages to claim another fifth-place finish.
The two results gave Deligny his first double top-five finish in F3 and provided further evidence of Van Amersfoort Racing’s competitive race pace.
Deligny reflects on his start to the season
During a media session ahead of the F3 Spielberg Round at the Austrian GP, Deligny was asked to assess his season so far and explain where he still hopes to improve.
“Yeah, it’s been a good start to the year for me. Only in Monaco, I struggled a bit in qualifying, but Melbourne was good with P6 in the Feature Race, with the podium in the Sprint Race as well. And then, last weekend, a double top five. So, yeah, some decent points so far.”
Deligny began his rookie F3 campaign with a second-place finish in the Melbourne Sprint Race, completing a Van Amersfoort Racing one-two behind teammate del Pino.
Although Monaco proved more difficult, his Barcelona performance restored his momentum ahead of the fourth round of the season at the Red Bull Ring.
A cleaner qualifying session could unlock more
Deligny’s Barcelona results carried additional significance because he achieved them after starting outside the leading positions. While the Van Amersfoort Racing driver felt pleased with the team’s race performance, he identified qualifying as the main area for improvement in Austria.
When asked whether his first two top-five finishes in Barcelona had increased his confidence of fighting for a podium, or even a victory, Deligny said:
“Yeah, for sure. I think we saw we have a good race car in Barcelona. So, it’s just about doing a cleaner qualifying. We were a bit compromised with the traffic in qualifying. So, just trying to get a bit better qualifying, and we know the pace is there. So, just playing it smart in the races and, yeah, we’ll see. But it’s good knowing that we have a good race car, for sure.”
Spielberg test offers a useful reference
F3 held a two-day in-season test at the Red Bull Ring on 20 and 21 May, giving Deligny and the rest of the field an opportunity to gather data at the circuit before the Austrian round. However, changing temperatures could limit how closely the teams can compare the test with the race weekend.
Pit Debrief asked Deligny how representative the conditions from the in-season test would be compared with those expected during the Spielberg Round at the Austrian GP.
“The temperature is going to be really hot, even more than Barcelona. So, I think it’ll make the races quite interesting with the tyre degradation. But, yeah, different conditions as well.”
Higher temperatures could place greater demands on tyre management, particularly during the longer Feature Race. Deligny’s ability to remain competitive during Barcelona’s closing laps should nevertheless give him confidence that he can manage another demanding race.
Managing Formula 3’s increased scrutiny
The step into F3 has also presented challenges away from the circuit. Drivers must handle a larger media presence, increased public attention and stricter rules surrounding the content they can share.
When asked by Pit Debrief about what people most often underestimate about everything an F3 driver must manage across a complete race weekend, Deligny was honest about being “watched” by the media.
“I feel like F3 is the first category where you’re really being watched, media-wise. So, you have to kind of be careful about what you say. You know, there might be traps, and you can’t just—there are a lot of rules. You can’t post a video of this or a video of that. So, I’d say that’s the biggest change.”
Deligny will now attempt to let his on-track performance attract the attention in Austria. After two fifth-place finishes in Barcelona, the next target is clear: turn Van Amersfoort Racing’s strong race pace into his second podium of the season, or potentially his first F3 victory.
