Ugo Ugochukwu extended his lead in the 2026 F3 Drivers’ Championship after finishing ninth in the Sprint Race at the Austrian GP.
The Campos Racing driver added two points to move onto 60, while nearest rival Théophile Naël remained on 52 after finishing outside the points. Meanwhile, Sprint Race winner Ernesto Rivera climbed four positions to seventh with his maiden F3 victory.
Pedro Clerot and Jin Nakamura completed the podium and made significant gains of their own, while Campos Racing extended its advantage over Van Amersfoort Racing in the Teams’ Championship from 27 to 35 points.
Ugochukwu extends his 2026 F3 Championship lead
Ugochukwu entered the Sprint Race six points ahead of Naël after finishing third in the Barcelona Feature Race. However, both Campos drivers started outside the leading reverse-grid positions following a difficult Qualifying session.
The American finished ninth and collected two points, increasing his total from 58 to 60. Naël crossed the line 15th and failed to score, leaving him on 52. Consequently, Ugochukwu extended his Championship lead from six to eight points before the Austrian Feature Race.
Del Pino closes on Naël as Slater retires
Bruno Del Pino collected the final point after finishing 10th for Van Amersfoort Racing. The Spaniard increased his total from 48 to 49 points and remains third in the standings.
Del Pino now trails Naël by three points, having reduced the gap between them by one. He also moved two points clear of Freddie Slater, who failed to score after retiring on the opening lap. Slater became involved in contact with TRIDENT teammate Noah Strømsted at Turn 1 and remained fourth on 47 points. Brando Badoer also failed to score but retained fifth with 41.
Rivera surges from 11th to seventh in 2026 F3 Drivers’ Championship standings after Sprint Race win
Rivera made one of the largest gains in the Drivers’ Championship after converting his front-row start into a maiden F3 victory.
The Campos driver followed early leader James Wharton before completing the decisive overtake at Turn 4 on Lap 14. He controlled the remaining laps and secured the 10 points available for a Sprint Race win.
Rivera entered the race 11th in the standings with 16 points. His victory increased his total to 26 and lifted him four positions to seventh.
He now sits level with Hiyu Yamakoshi but holds the higher position on countback because of his victory. Both drivers trail sixth-placed Enzo Deligny by only two points.
Yamakoshi scores but slips to eighth
Yamakoshi added three points after finishing eighth for Van Amersfoort Racing. The Japanese driver increased his total from 23 to 26. However, Rivera’s victory moved the Campos driver ahead on countback, dropping Yamakoshi from seventh to eighth.
Yamakoshi remains one point ahead of Clerot and two behind teammate Deligny, who failed to score after finishing 20th.
Clerot climbs into ninth with second place
Clerot moved from 10th to ninth in the standings after finishing second for Rodin Motorsport. The Frenchman started third and remained involved in the leading battle throughout the race. He passed Nakamura during the closing stages before capitalising on Wharton running wide to secure the runner-up position.
The result earned Clerot nine points and increased his total from 16 to 25. He now sits one point behind Rivera and Yamakoshi, while holding a three-point advantage over Taito Kato.
Kato added four points for seventh but dropped from ninth to 10th because of the gains made by Rivera and Clerot.
Xie drops out of the top 10
Gerrard Xie fell from eighth to 11th after finishing 16th and failing to score. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver remained on 20 points as Rivera, Clerot and Kato moved ahead of him. He now trails Kato by two points while retaining a two-point advantage over Wharton.
Xie has not scored since his Barcelona Sprint Race podium, although he remains within six points of Rivera in seventh.
Wharton climbs despite losing late podium
Wharton started from reverse-grid pole and led the opening 13 laps before Rivera overtook him at Turn 4. The PREMA Racing driver remained second until he ran wide at Turn 8 on the penultimate lap. Clerot and Nakamura subsequently passed him, dropping Wharton to fourth at the finish.
Nevertheless, Wharton collected seven points and increased his total from 11 to 18. He climbed two places from 14th to 12th and now sits two points behind Xie.
His points also moved PREMA Racing ahead of DAMS Lucas Oil in the Teams’ Championship.
Strømsted recovers to fifth
Strømsted recovered from his opening-lap contact with Slater to finish fifth. The Dane added six points to his Championship total, moving from nine to 15. As a result, he climbed from 15th to 13th in the Drivers’ standings.
Strømsted now trails Wharton by three points while holding a one-point advantage over Nakamura and Maciej Gładysz.
Nakamura makes four-place gain with podium
Nakamura matched Rivera’s four-position Championship gain after finishing third for Hitech. The Japanese driver ran inside the leading group throughout the race and initially held off Clerot in their fight for third. Although Clerot eventually passed him, Nakamura moved ahead of Wharton during the closing stages and secured the final podium position.
His eight-point haul increased his total from six to 14 and lifted him from 18th to 14th. Nakamura sits level with Gładysz but holds the higher position on countback.
Gładysz dropped from 12th to 15th despite finishing 13th, while Alessandro Giusti fell three places to 16th after missing the points in 11th.
Taponen adds five points but falls to 17th
Tuukka Taponen finished sixth and added five points for MP Motorsport. The Finn increased his total from seven to 12. However, the gains made by Wharton, Strømsted and Nakamura pushed him from 16th to 17th.
Taponen now trails Giusti by one point and holds a six-point advantage over Brad Benavides, who remains 18th.
Campos extends 2026 F3 Teams’ Championship advantage after Rivera wins Sprint Race
Campos Racing scored 12 points through Rivera’s victory and Ugochukwu’s ninth-place finish. The Spanish team increased its total from 126 to 138 points.
Van Amersfoort Racing added four points through Yamakoshi and Del Pino, moving onto 103. Therefore, Campos extended its advantage from 27 to 35 points.
Rodin Motorsport strengthened third place after Clerot added nine points, moving the team onto 66. TRIDENT follows four points behind on 62 after Strømsted’s fifth-place finish.
Kato’s four points moved ART Grand Prix onto 38, while Taponen increased MP Motorsport’s total to 26. PREMA Racing climbed ahead of DAMS into seventh after Wharton’s fourth place brought seven points.
Nakamura’s podium doubled Hitech’s total from six to 14, while AIX Racing remained 10th with six points.
2026 F3 Drivers’ Championship standings after the Austrian GP Sprint Race
- Ugo Ugochukwu — 60 points
- Théophile Naël — 52 points
- Bruno Del Pino — 49 points
- Freddie Slater — 47 points
- Brando Badoer — 41 points
- Enzo Deligny — 28 points
- Ernesto Rivera — 26 points
- Hiyu Yamakoshi — 26 points
- Pedro Clerot — 25 points
- Taito Kato — 22 points
- Gerrard Xie — 20 points
- James Wharton — 18 points
- Noah Strømsted — 15 points
- Jin Nakamura — 14 points
- Maciej Gładysz — 14 points
- Alessandro Giusti — 13 points
- Tuukka Taponen — 12 points
- Brad Benavides — 6 points
- Louis Sharp — 2 points
- Kanato Le — 2 points
- Mattia Colnaghi — 1 point
- José Garfias — 1 point
- Nicola Lacorte — 0 points
- Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi — 0 points
- Fionn McLaughlin — 0 points
- Matteo De Palo — 0 points
- Christian Ho — 0 points
- Patrick Heuzenroeder — 0 points
- Fernando Barrichello — 0 points
- Woohyun Shin — 0 points
- Yevan David — 0 points
- Ricardo Escotto — 0 points
- Salim Hanna — 0 points
- Jesse Carrasquedo — 0 points
Ugochukwu leads Naël by eight points, while Del Pino and Slater sit 11 and 13 points away from the Championship lead respectively. Only six points separate Deligny in sixth from Kato in 10th.
2026 F3 Teams’ Championship standings after the Austrian GP Sprint Race
- Campos Racing — 138 points
- Van Amersfoort Racing — 103 points
- Rodin Motorsport — 66 points
- TRIDENT — 62 points
- ART Grand Prix — 38 points
- MP Motorsport — 26 points
- PREMA Racing — 21 points
- DAMS Lucas Oil — 20 points
- Hitech — 14 points
- AIX Racing — 6 points
Campos Racing leads Van Amersfoort Racing by 35 points, while only four points separate Rodin Motorsport and TRIDENT in the fight for third. PREMA Racing holds seventh by one point over DAMS Lucas Oil.
Feature Race could reshape title battle
Ugochukwu increased his Championship advantage despite starting outside the leading reverse-grid positions, while Rivera moved into the upper section of the standings with his first F3 victory.
However, the Feature Race offers a larger points haul and another opportunity for the leading contenders to reshape both Championships before the series leaves Spielberg.
