Campos Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu delivered a dominant victory in the Silverstone F3 Sprint Race at the 2026 British GP after controlling the contest from reverse-grid pole. The championship leader made a clean start, built a decisive gap and eventually won by more than 16 seconds. AIX Racing’s Yevan David resisted sustained pressure to claim second, while Campos Racing’s Théophile Naël snatched third from TRIDENT’s Matteo De Palo at the final corner after a dramatic late fight.
Ugochukwu keeps control as David applies early pressure
Ugochukwu lined up on pole after finishing 12th in Friday’s Qualifying session, with David alongside him on the front row. At 9:35 local time, Ugochukwu led the field away on the formation lap before preparing to launch from the front.
When the lights went out, Ugochukwu made the start he needed. David challenged from second, but the Campos Racing driver held the lead into the opening corners. Behind them, the 30-car field battled hard, yet every driver completed the first lap.
MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti held third in the early phase, while David stayed close enough to use DRS behind Ugochukwu. However, the AIX Racing driver could not get alongside, and Ugochukwu began to stretch the gap once the race settled.
Further back, TRIDENT’s Freddie Slater tried to pass Campos Racing’s Ernesto Rivera around the outside at Copse for P11. However, Rivera held firm, and Slater ran wide as their battle continued.
Early incidents disrupt Xie and Ho
Although the start avoided major chaos, two drivers soon had to pit with damage. DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie came in with a puncture, while Rodin Motorsport’s Christian Ho also pitted after sustaining front wing damage at the start.
Meanwhile, Naël started to move forward. After lining up 11th, he attacked Hitech’s Fionn McLaughlin at Brooklands and moved into eighth. That pass began a charge that eventually brought him into podium contention.
At the front, Ugochukwu continued to edge away. By Lap 5, he had built a 1.1s gap over David, which reduced the threat of DRS. David briefly fought back to regain DRS range, but Giusti soon came under pressure from Prema Racing’s James Wharton.
Wharton and Strømsted join the 2026 Silverstone F3 Sprint Race podium fight at the British GP
Wharton made one of the race’s cleanest moves on Lap 8, going around the outside of Giusti at Brooklands to take third. Giusti then started to struggle and lost further ground as TRIDENT’s Noah Strømsted moved past at Copse.
By Lap 9, Ugochukwu had extended his lead to more than 2.4s. Behind him, the podium battle intensified as Wharton and Strømsted went wheel-to-wheel for third while closing on David.
Naël continued his own recovery on Lap 10. ART Grand Prix’s Maciej Gładysz ran into the gravel and lost momentum, while Naël moved into seventh. Soon after, Strømsted attacked Wharton around the outside through Maggots and Becketts, before De Palo also passed the Prema Racing driver at Copse.
Giusti’s race continued to unravel. By Lap 11, he had dropped to 10th after losing positions to Naël, Gładysz, McLaughlin and Prema Racing’s Louis Sharp.
David defends as Naël charges late
By Lap 12, David had fallen more than six seconds behind Ugochukwu, but his own race became a defensive effort. Strømsted, De Palo and Naël all closed in, turning second place into the main focus of the final laps.
On Lap 13, David gained a brief reprieve when Strømsted and De Palo made contact. Both TRIDENT drivers continued, but Strømsted lost DRS and had to rebuild his attack. However, Naël also joined the fight and soon made another decisive move.
On Lap 14, Naël went down the inside of De Palo at Brooklands to take fourth. He then set off after Strømsted, who had caught David again and started to pressure the AIX Racing driver through the high-speed sections.
David defended strongly at Copse on Lap 15 and kept Strømsted behind. However, without DRS, he remained vulnerable, and De Palo rejoined the fight after moving back ahead of Naël.
Naël snatches third at the final corner to claim F3 Sprint Race podium at the 2026 British GP
The podium battle reached its peak on the final two laps. David, Strømsted, De Palo and Naël ran together, with David only just holding second as the drivers behind traded attacks.
De Palo moved past Strømsted for the final podium place late on and looked set to secure third. However, Naël refused to settle for fourth. On the final lap, he launched a bold move at the final corner and snatched third from De Palo.
Ahead of them, Ugochukwu stayed untouchable. He crossed the line more than 16 seconds clear to claim a commanding Silverstone Sprint Race victory and strengthen his championship lead.
David completed a composed race in second, securing his first F3 podium and a landmark result for Sri Lanka. Naël completed the podium after his final-corner move, while De Palo and Strømsted had to settle for fourth and fifth after a fierce late battle.
See the full F3 Sprint Race results from the 2026 Silverstone Round here.
