Ernesto Rivera executed a patient tyre-management strategy to claim an impressive victory in the 2026 F3 Feature Race at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Campos Racing driver started fourth and initially dropped to fifth. However, Rivera protected his tyres during the opening laps before calmly overtaking each of the leading contenders as their performance began to decline.
Rivera passed Freddie Slater for the lead on Lap 12 of 15 and quickly moved outside DRS range. He then controlled the final laps to claim his first Feature Race victory and climb to fifth in the Drivers’ Championship.
Rivera exercises patience in 2026 F3 Spa Feature Race as rivals push early
Higher-than-expected tyre degradation shaped the Feature Race and rewarded drivers who managed their pace during the opening stages.
Rivera recognised the threat before the start and resisted the temptation to follow the leaders’ early pace. Instead, he conserved his tyres and waited for opportunities to develop later in the race.
Although Slater quickly progressed from fourth to first, Rivera trusted his strategy and maintained his patient approach.
“It was a very tough race. Lots of tyre degradation. I started P4, fell to P5 at the start. But I spent the first couple laps going easy on the tyres, and then mid-race to the end when I saw the others start to struggle, and I had more tyres than them I was able to go through,” Rivera said to Formula 3.
“I knew before the race that the tyre degradation was going to be a lot. So, as I said, first laps take it very easy. I saw the others were pushing a lot. When I was behind Freddie, he was pushing a lot in Sector 2, and I was thinking, maybe I’m taking it too easy because he went from P4 to P1 in three or four laps.
“But it was fun to go through the field. DRS was massive. So, I was just trying to get a good run up Eau Rouge and the Kemmel Straight.”
Rivera’s restraint gave him a significant tyre advantage during the second half of the race. He then used the powerful slipstream and DRS effect along the Kemmel Straight to complete his overtakes cleanly.
Decisive Slater pass secures the race lead
Rivera remained patient as he progressed towards the front and completed each crucial overtake at his first opportunity.
He eventually closed on Slater and used DRS to pass the TRIDENT driver for the lead on Lap 12. Rivera then immediately changed his approach and pushed through Spa-Francorchamps’ technical middle sector.
The Mexican aimed to break Slater’s DRS advantage before the following Kemmel Straight. His pace created a larger gap than he expected and allowed him to manage the remaining laps without taking unnecessary risks.
“When I was able to get by Freddie, I pushed as much as I could in Sector 2 to try to get him out of the DRS. I really didn’t think it was possible.
“But when I saw the gap after T14, I was surprised. I didn’t know if he made a mistake or something, but I could see that he was dropping a lot. From there towards the end, I just managed. I didn’t take a lot of risks. I was safe in track limits too, so I was just managing it.”
Rivera controlled his advantage to the chequered flag and avoided the track-limits penalties that affected several drivers behind him.
Strong race pace in Spa continues to drive rookie campaign
Rivera missed pre-season testing and the opening round in Melbourne before joining the 2026 F3 grid. Despite that delayed start, he has regularly competed inside the top 10 during Sunday’s Feature Races.
The Campos Racing driver has missed the points in only one Feature Race since his return, at the Red Bull Ring. Furthermore, he has consistently placed himself near the front during qualifying, recording three top-five starts.
Rivera believes he has produced a strong rookie campaign, although his Sprint Race results have not always matched his Friday and Sunday performances.
“Honestly, it has been a very strong season, especially in qualifying. I’ve been always in the top 12 and three times in the top five. So, I’ve been always quite fast on Fridays. Saturdays haven’t been the greatest, apart from Red Bull Ring.
Rivera responds to 2026 Silverstone F3 disappointment with Spa victory
Rivera also displayed strong pace during the previous round at Silverstone.
He crossed the line third before the stewards promoted him to second. However, a subsequent penalty removed the podium result and brought a difficult conclusion to an otherwise competitive weekend.
Therefore, the Red Bull junior viewed his Spa victory as an important response to that disappointment.
“Some days have been better. Silverstone was very good and ended P3 on the road, up to P2 after, then had a penalty. But it’s great to come back with a strong result as Silverstone was tough to swallow.”
The victory gave Rivera 25 points and lifted him seven positions in the Drivers’ Championship. He now occupies fifth place and sits only three points behind Noah Strømsted in fourth.
Qualifying takes priority ahead of Budapest
Formula 3 will complete one final round before the summer break when the championship travels to the Hungaroring.
Rivera has not previously raced at the Hungarian circuit. Nevertheless, he expects Campos Racing to produce another competitive package, particularly with the Medium tyre likely to create further degradation.
However, the Mexican expects qualifying to play a greater role than race pace because the Hungaroring offers fewer overtaking opportunities than Spa-Francorchamps.
“I’ve never raced at Budapest. The car should be fast this year. Also with the Medium tyre, there will be a lot of degradation. But I think in Budapest it’s more about qualifying than race pace because it’s difficult to overtake. So, I’m expecting to be at the front for Sunday.”
Rivera demonstrated at Spa that he can protect his tyres, judge the race around him and attack when his rivals begin to struggle. He must now combine that race management with another strong qualifying performance as he targets further progress before the summer break.
