Théophile Naël is eager to put a frustrating Spielberg weekend behind him as he heads to Silverstone looking to get his 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) title challenge back on track.
The Campos Racing driver left Austria without scoring a point after a difficult Qualifying session left him starting from P24. Unable to put together a clean lap, Naël faced an uphill battle across both races despite showing encouraging pace throughout the weekend.
He recovered to finish P15 in both the Sprint and Feature races, but with title rivals Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater both finishing on the podium, Naël admitted a strategic call in Qualifying ultimately proved costly.
“I think it was wrong place, wrong time, and wrong timing,” he said. “We decided to go in the pack for our lap in the tow, and that was clearly the wrong choice.
“We bet on the slipstream, but I think it was better to be alone on track like Hiyu and Ugo. Anyway, we learned from that. It was a team decision and my decision as well.
“So wrong place, wrong time, but the pace was still good. I was P3 and in the top five on the first push.
“We showed some great pace this weekend with the fastest lap in the Feature Race as well. So I’m quite happy with that, and we will come back stronger for Silverstone.”
Learning’s from the Spielberg weekend
Despite the disappointing result, Naël believes there were still plenty of positives to take away from the 2026 F3 Spielberg Round, particularly after Campos trialled a new setup during the races.
“The goal was to gain some positions in both races, don’t crash, and learn from it,” Naël explained. “We tried something on the car today, and it worked well, so I’m super happy.
“Of course, it was frustrating in Quali, but it was done, so heads up. We still had strong pace throughout the whole weekend.
“So I’m still quite happy. I’m still P3 in the championship, so not too far behind. We’re not even at the halfway point of the season yet, so it’s okay.”
The Silverstone Round
Attention now turns to Silverstone, a circuit where Naël claimed second place in last year’s Feature Race. Having taken three pole positions already this season, the Frenchman is hopeful Spielberg was simply an anomaly and that he can return to the front in Britain.
“Hopefully we can keep the momentum we’ve had in Quali since the beginning of the season, apart from this weekend,” he said. “I think this was the joker, let’s say.
“But I’m super happy to be back in the car in less than a week. I’m looking forward to it. I really enjoyed Silverstone last year, so let’s see.”
