Théophile Naël charged from sixth on the grid to win the 2026 Budapest F3 Sprint Race at the Hungarian GP after overtaking Kanato Le for the lead on Lap 9.
Le survived a chaotic opening lap to finish second for ART Grand Prix, while Campos Racing’s Ernesto Rivera completed the podium. Meanwhile, Mattia Colnaghi and Brando Badoer rounded out the top five.
Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu crossed the line in P10. However, a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage dropped him to P17, allowing title rival Freddie Slater to inherit the final point in P10.
ART Grand Prix locks out front row for F3 Sprint Race at the 2026 Hungarian GP with Le on pole
ART Grand Prix’s Kanato Le started the 2026 Budapest F3 Sprint Race from reverse-grid pole after finishing Qualifying in P12. Teammate Maciej Gładysz joined him on the front row, giving ART Grand Prix control of the leading two grid positions.
DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie lined up in P3, alongside Hitech’s Jin Nakamura. The Japanese driver started from the same position from which he won the previous Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps.
Red Bull junior Ernesto Rivera led the Campos Racing trio from P5. Théophile Naël started alongside him in P6, while Drivers’ Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu occupied P7. Rodin Motorsport’s Brando Badoer completed the fourth row in P8.
DAMS Lucas Oil’s Nicola Lacorte and MP Motorsport’s Mattia Colnaghi shared the fifth row in P9 and P10 respectively. Meanwhile, TRIDENT’s Freddie Slater, who entered the weekend second in the Drivers’ Championship, started P11 ahead of Feature Race polesitter Tuukka Taponen in P12.
The remaining 18 drivers lined up in their Qualifying positions, except for Hiyu Yamakoshi. The Stewards permitted the Van Amersfoort Racing driver to start from P30 after disqualifying him from Friday’s Qualifying results.
Le survives chaotic opening lap
The 30 drivers completed the formation lap before taking their places on the grid for the 11:05 local time start.
When the lights went out, Xie launched from P3 and immediately challenged the ART Grand Prix pair. Le, Gładysz, Xie and Nakamura then fought for position as the field approached the opening corners. Le ultimately emerged in the lead. However, contact behind him involved Xie, Gładysz and Nakamura, sending Gładysz and Nakamura into the gravel.
Xie spun but returned to the circuit before pitting for repairs. Although DAMS Lucas Oil returned his car to the race, he rejoined at the back of the field.
The incident prompted the Safety Car, while the remaining drivers fanned out behind the stricken cars.
Naël avoided the chaos and moved into P2 behind Le. Rivera advanced to P3, while Colnaghi climbed to P4 ahead of Badoer and Lacorte. Meanwhile, Ugochukwu survived the opening exchanges in P7. Meanwhile, Taponen improved to P8 ahead of Slater and AIX Racing’s Yevan David.
Ugochukwu begins early recovery
The Safety Car returned to the pit lane at the end of Lap 3, allowing Le to restart the race ahead of Naël and Rivera.
Further back, Lacorte and Ugochukwu immediately fought over P6. Lacorte initially reclaimed the position on Lap 4, but Ugochukwu remained close as Race Control enabled DRS one lap later. The pair made light contact during their battle, which damaged Ugochukwu’s front wing. Nevertheless, the Campos Racing driver continued his attack.
With only one point separating Ugochukwu and Slater in the standings, the American needed to preserve his race while moving forward. Slater also held the stronger starting position for Sunday’s Feature Race, which increased the pressure on the championship leader. Ugochukwu eventually dived down the inside at Turn 1 on Lap 7 to take P6 from Lacorte.
Behind them, PREMA Racing’s James Wharton entered the top 10 after passing David. Fernando Barrichello then followed his AIX Racing teammate through.
Ugochukwu continued his charge on Lap 8, passing Badoer at Turn 1 for P5 before setting off after Colnaghi.
Naël passes Le for the lead of the F3 Sprint Race at the 2026 Hungarian GP
Le initially controlled the restart, although Naël remained within striking distance throughout the opening laps. On Lap 9, the Campos Racing driver used DRS to attack into Turn 1. He completed the move and took the lead before immediately attempting to break Le’s tow.
Meanwhile, Ugochukwu closed on Colnaghi and began challenging for P4. However, Race Control noted Ugochukwu for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during his opening-lap battle with Taponen. Officials also noted Matteo De Palo, for moving before the starting signal.
At the halfway point, Naël led Le by 0.6 seconds. Rivera followed in P3, ahead of Colnaghi and Ugochukwu. Badoer and Lacorte held sixth and seventh respectively, while Taponen occupied P8. Slater and Wharton completed the points-paying positions.
The gaps at the front narrowed again on Lap 12. Le remained within 0.6s of Naël, while Rivera followed another 0.6s behind the ART Grand Prix driver.
Five-second penalty compromises Ugochukwu
Race Control subsequently handed Ugochukwu a five-second penalty for leaving the circuit and gaining an advantage. Replays showed the Campos Racing driver running wide at the exit of Turn 3 on Lap 1 before passing Taponen at the following corner.
The penalty transformed the remainder of his race into a time trial. With the midfield running closely behind him, Ugochukwu faced the prospect of falling outside the points even if he maintained his position on the road.
Moreover, Slater remained within the top 10. Therefore, Ugochukwu’s penalty placed the TRIDENT driver in position to make a significant gain in the championship battle.
At the front, Naël continued to lead Le, while the gap from Le to Rivera grew beyond 1.4s. Meanwhile, Lacorte attacked Badoer for P6. The battle also brought both drivers closer to Ugochukwu, with less than 0.7s separating the three cars on Lap 16.
Taponen and Lacorte demote Ugochukwu
Badoer attacked Ugochukwu into Turn 1 and took P5. Lacorte attempted to follow the Rodin Motorsport driver through but backed out of the move. However, Lacorte’s failed attack opened the door for Taponen, who moved ahead of the DAMS Lucas Oil driver.
Race Control then handed De Palo a five-second penalty for moving before the starting signal.
On Lap 17, Taponen used a switchback at Turn 1 to gain momentum alongside Ugochukwu. The MP Motorsport driver completed the move at Turn 2 and claimed P6. Meanwhile, Rivera closed to within approximately 0.4s of Le as the fight for second intensified.
Lacorte became the next driver to pass Ugochukwu, taking P7 on Lap 18. Wharton then forced his way ahead of both Ugochukwu and Slater to claim P8. Barrichello followed in P9, leaving Ugochukwu and Slater fighting over the final position inside the top 10.
Naël converts sixth into 2026 Budapest F3 Sprint Race victory at Hungarian GP
Naël maintained his advantage as the field entered the final lap. Although Le remained within range, the ART Grand Prix driver could not launch another attack. Naël therefore crossed the line first to secure victory for Campos Racing after starting from P6.
Le finished second, while Rivera completed the podium in P3. Colnaghi claimed fourth for MP Motorsport ahead of Badoer and Taponen. Lacorte finished seventh, while Wharton and Barrichello took eighth and ninth respectively.
Ugochukwu crossed the line in P10. However, Race Control added his five-second penalty to his race time, dropping him to P17 in the final classification.
Consequently, Slater inherited P10 and the final point. The result also strengthened his championship position after he avoided the opening-lap chaos and remained within reach of Ugochukwu throughout the race.
