Freddie Slater took the lead of the 2026 F3 Drivers’ Championship standings after claiming his maiden victory in the Feature Race at the Hungarian GP.
The TRIDENT driver entered Sunday level with Ugo Ugochukwu on 104 points before winning the race and collecting 26 points. Ugochukwu followed him home in second, leaving Budapest eight points behind his title rival.
Meanwhile, Campos Racing retained a 73-point advantage over TRIDENT in the Teams’ Championship. Both teams added 26 points during the Feature Race, while Rodin Motorsport moved ahead of ART Grand Prix into fourth.
Slater takes championship lead with maiden F3 victory
Slater started the Feature Race from second and challenged polesitter Tuukka Taponen during the opening lap. Contact between the pair at Turn 12 damaged Slater’s front-wing endplate and gave Taponen a puncture, but the TRIDENT driver continued and inherited the lead when the Finn entered the pits.
Several Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods prevented Slater from establishing a lasting advantage. Ugochukwu also moved into second with an outside pass on Brando Badoer and Mattia Colnaghi at Turn 2 before closing onto the race leader.
However, Slater resisted the American’s pressure during the final laps and won by 1.484s. He collected 26 points and increased his championship total from 104 to 130, moving ahead of Ugochukwu and taking an eight-point lead into the summer break.
Ugochukwu limits damage with second place
Ugochukwu recovered strongly after starting sixth and making minor contact with Campos teammate Théophile Naël during the opening lap.
The American climbed to fifth before overtaking Badoer and Colnaghi in a single move at Turn 2. He then remained within one second of Slater for much of the race and continued applying pressure after the final Safety Car restart.
Although Ugochukwu could not complete a pass for victory, second place earned him 18 points and increased his total from 104 to 122. He consequently dropped from first to second in the standings but remains firmly in contention with two rounds left.
Naël remains third after penalties erase points finish
Naël retained third place in the Drivers’ Championship despite leaving the Feature Race without any additional points.
The Sprint Race winner fought inside the leading group and crossed the line fifth. However, officials handed him a five-second penalty and a further 10-second sanction for forcing Taponen off the circuit on two separate occasions.
The combined 15-second penalty dropped Naël to 20th in the final classification. He therefore remains on 75 points, now 47 behind Ugochukwu and 55 behind Slater. Nevertheless, he holds a narrow three-point advantage over teammate Ernesto Rivera.
Rivera closes on Naël with sixth-place finish
Rivera continued his productive Budapest weekend by finishing sixth in the Feature Race.
The Campos driver had already claimed third in the Sprint Race and added another eight points on Sunday, increasing his championship total from 64 to 72. He remains fourth but now sits only three points behind Naël.
Rivera also holds a one-point advantage over Badoer, meaning only four points separate third and fifth in the standings.
Badoer climbs to fifth after podium
Badoer secured his second podium of the season by finishing third for Rodin Motorsport.
The Italian moved ahead of Colnaghi at Turn 3 on the opening lap and remained among the leading contenders throughout the interruptions. Ugochukwu eventually passed him, but Badoer held off Colnaghi during the closing laps to retain the final podium position.
His 15-point haul increased his total from 56 to 71. As a result, Badoer climbed from sixth to fifth, moving ahead of Noah Strømsted and closing to within one point of Rivera.
Strømsted drops to sixth after scoreless weekend
Strømsted failed to score in either Budapest race and dropped another position in the championship.
The TRIDENT driver entered the weekend fourth but fell behind Rivera following Saturday’s Sprint Race. Badoer’s Feature Race podium then pushed him from fifth to sixth.
Strømsted remains on 59 points, 12 behind Badoer and four ahead of Hiyu Yamakoshi. With Slater scoring heavily, Strømsted now trails his teammate by 71 points.
Yamakoshi moves ahead of Gładysz
Yamakoshi claimed the final Feature Race point by finishing 10th for Van Amersfoort Racing.
The Japanese driver increased his total from 54 to 55 and moved from eighth to seventh in the standings. He now leads Maciej Gładysz by one point.
Gładysz failed to score after retiring during the opening-lap incident involving Jin Nakamura and Gerrard Xie. The ART Grand Prix driver therefore remains on 54 points and drops to eighth.
Del Pino and Clerot retain top-10 positions
Bruno del Pino remains ninth in the championship with 49 points after finishing 14th in the Feature Race.
Pedro Clerot also failed to score after taking 15th for Rodin Motorsport. The Brazilian remains 10th on 48 points, only one behind Del Pino.
However, Taponen’s strong Sunday result has brought him to within two points of Clerot and three of Del Pino.
Taponen climbs to 11th after eventful recovery
Taponen entered the Feature Race from his maiden F3 pole position and earned two championship points through his Qualifying result.
The MP Motorsport driver retained the lead at Turn 1 but suffered a puncture after making contact with Slater later on the opening lap. He used the resulting Safety Car period to pit and remained among the leading group despite the early setback.
Taponen eventually finished fifth after Naël’s penalties and earned 10 race points. Combined with his two points for pole, he increased his championship total from 34 to 46 and climbed from 13th to 11th.
He moved ahead of Taito Kato and Nakamura and now trails Clerot by only two points.
Colnaghi draws level with Nakamura
Kato failed to score and dropped from 11th to 12th, although he remains on 45 points and sits only one behind Taponen.
Nakamura retired following the opening-lap collision and remained on 39 points. He dropped to 13th but retains that position on countback ahead of Colnaghi.
Colnaghi finished fourth and earned 12 points, increasing his total from 27 to 39. The MP Motorsport driver climbed from 15th to 14th and drew level with Nakamura after scoring in all four races across the Spa and Budapest weekends.
Wharton and Sharp move forward
James Wharton earned six points with seventh place for PREMA Racing.
The Australian increased his total from 22 to 28 and climbed from 16th to 15th. He drew level with Enzo Deligny, who retired following contact involving Yevan David and Fernando Barrichello, but Wharton holds the higher position on countback.
Louis Sharp also moved forward after finishing eighth. The PREMA driver collected four points, increased his total from 17 to 21 and climbed three places to 17th.
Sharp moved ahead of Xie and Kanato Le, who remain level on 20 points after both failed to finish. Xie holds 18th on countback, while Le drops to 19th.
Ho scores first F3 points
Christian Ho claimed his first points of the season after penalties promoted him to ninth.
The Rodin Motorsport driver added two points and climbed from 28th to 25th in the standings. He now sits level with Fionn McLaughlin and Barrichello but holds the higher position on countback.
Alessandro Giusti remains 20th on 17 points, ahead of David on 15 and Matteo De Palo on seven. Nicola Lacorte and Brad Benavides remain level on six, while José Garfias holds one point.
2026 F3 Drivers’ Championship standings after the Hungarian GP Feature Race
- Freddie Slater — 130 points
- Ugo Ugochukwu — 122 points
- Théophile Naël — 75 points
- Ernesto Rivera — 72 points
- Brando Badoer — 71 points
- Noah Strømsted — 59 points
- Hiyu Yamakoshi — 55 points
- Maciej Gładysz — 54 points
- Bruno del Pino — 49 points
- Pedro Clerot — 48 points
- Tuukka Taponen — 46 points
- Taito Kato — 45 points
- Jin Nakamura — 39 points
- Mattia Colnaghi — 39 points
- James Wharton — 28 points
- Enzo Deligny — 28 points
- Louis Sharp — 21 points
- Gerrard Xie — 20 points
- Kanato Le — 20 points
- Alessandro Giusti — 17 points
- Yevan David — 15 points
- Matteo De Palo — 7 points
- Nicola Lacorte — 6 points
- Brad Benavides — 6 points
- Christian Ho — 2 points
- Fionn McLaughlin — 2 points
- Fernando Barrichello — 2 points
- José Garfias — 1 point
- Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi — 0 points
- Patrick Heuzenroeder — 0 points
- Woohyun Shin — 0 points
- Salim Hanna — 0 points
- Ricardo Escotto — 0 points
Slater leads Ugochukwu by eight points, while Naël sits 47 points behind second place. Only four points separate Naël, Rivera and Badoer in the battle for third.
Campos retains 73-point Teams’ Championship lead
Campos Racing maintained its commanding lead despite Slater’s victory for TRIDENT.
Ugochukwu contributed 18 points through second place, while Rivera added eight with sixth. Naël failed to score following his penalties, but Campos still increased its total from 243 to 269.
TRIDENT also earned 26 points, all through Slater’s victory and bonus point. Strømsted and De Palo failed to score, leaving the team on 196 points.
Consequently, the gap between Campos and TRIDENT remains unchanged at 73 points ahead of the final two rounds.
Rodin moves ahead of ART Grand Prix
Van Amersfoort Racing remains third after earning only one point through Yamakoshi. The team increased its total from 131 to 132 and now sits 64 points behind TRIDENT.
However, Rodin Motorsport moved into fourth following Badoer’s podium and Ho’s ninth-place finish. The pair added 17 points, increasing Rodin’s total from 104 to 121.
ART Grand Prix failed to score after Gładysz and Le retired, while Kato finished outside the top 10. The team therefore remains on 119 points and drops from fourth to fifth, only two behind Rodin.
MP Motorsport closes on leading midfield teams
MP Motorsport produced the second-largest Feature Race points haul after Campos and TRIDENT.
Colnaghi contributed 12 points through fourth place, while Taponen added 10 for fifth and two through his pole position. Their combined 24-point gain increased MP’s total from 78 to 102.
The team remains sixth but now trails ART Grand Prix by 17 points and Rodin by 19. It also holds a 52-point advantage over PREMA Racing.
PREMA overtakes Hitech
PREMA moved ahead of Hitech after both Wharton and Sharp scored.
Wharton contributed six points with seventh, while Sharp added four in eighth. PREMA therefore increased its total from 40 to 50 and climbed from eighth to seventh.
Hitech failed to score after Nakamura retired and dropped to eighth with 41 points. DAMS Lucas Oil and AIX Racing also remained scoreless, leaving them ninth and 10th respectively.
2026 F3 Teams’ Championship standings after the Hungarian GP Feature Race
- Campos Racing — 269 points
- TRIDENT — 196 points
- Van Amersfoort Racing — 132 points
- Rodin Motorsport — 121 points
- ART Grand Prix — 119 points
- MP Motorsport — 102 points
- PREMA Racing — 50 points
- Hitech — 41 points
- DAMS Lucas Oil — 26 points
- AIX Racing — 23 points
Campos Racing leads TRIDENT by 73 points, while only 13 points separate Van Amersfoort Racing, Rodin Motorsport and ART Grand Prix in the battle for third. MP Motorsport remains within 30 points of all three teams.
