“The car was incredible”: Kato on charging from P9 to P1 during the Sprint Race at 2026 F3 Monza round

Taito Kato was left “speechless” after claiming his maiden FIA Formula 3 win, charging from P9 to P1 during the Sprint Race at the 2026 F3 Monza round.

The ART Grand Prix driver kicked off his Round 8 weekend well, securing a career-best Qualifying result of P4 before lining up on the fifth row for the Sprint Race. Kato quickly managed to make his way through the field at the start, avoiding early drama to take P5 by Lap 5. Remaining near the front after two Safety Car periods, Kato eventually pulled off a decisive move on Lap 15, jumping from P3 to P1 at the final corner, before holding off pressure from Freddie Slater to secure an impressive maiden victory.

“Incredible” car key to Kato’s 2026 F3 Monza Sprint Race victory

Reflecting on his victory during the FIA F3 post-Sprint Race press conference, attended by Pit Debrief, Kato shared his delight and praised his car’s performance.

“I’m feeling amazing, just incredible,” he said. “I mean I’m speechless to be honest. From P9, I knew that I had a good opportunity to overtake here in Monza. Monza is always a lot of opportunity to overtake in front. This car was amazing for the race, really enjoyable to drive for the race. Just massive thanks to all my team, car was incredible. Just last couple of races, we are quite struggling with the performance, so I’m just happy with that.”

Kato’s win proved even more impressive given the chaos he had to navigate, with the race featuring two Safety Cars, one Virtual Safety Car, and six DNFs. The Japanese driver explained his perspective on the Lap 4 incident which saw Brando Badoer, Fernando Barrichello and Tuukka Taponen go three-wide on the main straight before making contact.

“Yeah, I saw the chaos in front, especially beginning like four wide, three wide on the straight. I saw the chaos, just I will stay calm all race, avoid any crash and stay calm all race and then just take care with the time management. Pace was looking really good and I was really confident for the race, so I was always stay calm inside the car.”

Asked about how he withstood pressure during the final laps, not making any mistakes and avoiding contact, Kato briefly said:

“Good pace. That car was incredible. So I know if I did any mistake, I can win the race, so I knew that. So that’s why.”

Growing confidence and pride

Kato further highlighted the importance of his Monza Sprint Race win, explaining that the strong result and car performance have given him added confidence heading into Sunday’s Feature Race. Set to start tomorrow’s race from the second row in P4, Kato will now be eyeing to add another trophy to his collection.

“I think this podium is helping a lot for tomorrow. This is important things, car is very strong. I think this is most important things. I think tomorrow it’s going to be a bit more colder conditions, but I think no issue with my car. So I have confidence for tomorrow and then let’s see how it goes. I think I start from P4 tomorrow and then Slater P1, so he finished P2 from P12. So yeah, it’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow.”

Looking at the 2026 F3 Monza Sprint Race, Kato added that his result was made even more special by Hiyu Yamakoshi’s P3 finish. The result marked the first time two Japanese drivers shared an FIA Formula 3 podium, making the Sprint Race an especially memorable one for fans back home.

“Yeah, as Hiyu said, I think double podium Japanese driver is a first ever experience. I think that is incredible result. Just we are talking with Japanese and just good communication with each other. But same time on track is really side by side and really close to the bottles. Yeah, just want to say thank you to my home. It’s a lot of fans, send me message on my phone. Just wanted to say massive thanks, all my fans, thank you.”

Navigating a new DRS layout

Monza’s revised DRS layout also played a role in the 2026 F3 Sprint Race, with a new zone introduced between Turns 10 and 11 alongside the two existing sections on the main straight and on the run towards Ascari. The additional overtaking opportunity contributed to the close racing throughout the field, with Kato making the most of it by completing his final move at the last corner.

Asked by Pit Debrief whether the three DRS zones made the race more about choosing where to make a move, rather than simply taking any opportunity to overtake, Kato shared:

“Yeah, I think as Slater said I think it’s helping for a good opportunity to in front, close to the front, and I think a good opportunity to battle in front as well.”

However, he continued by explaining that leading the race brought its own challenges as the cars behind quickly closed in.

“But at the same time, I was leading the race, I saw that, I saw the mirrors, was getting closer and closer. That was quite scary. So if I drive in like P2, P3, I think that’s kind of helping a lot. But if I’m driving P1, just a little bit kind of scary, you know.”

A long time coming

Speaking to Pit Debrief about finally securing his maiden win after a mixed start to his rookie campaign, kato noted how the team’s work away from track helped them rediscover their pace after a difficult Budapest round.

“Yeah, for sure, this means a lot. This last couple of races, we were quite missing the pace. With the performance, I was obviously frustrated. At the same time, the team as well. We were focused on the simulator, a lot using the simulator and the simulation with the setup. And I think that is helping a lot with the Madrid test. I think we found a good setup and that’s helping for this weekend as well.”

“So I think we found the pace and performed good performance. So tomorrow it’s going to be, I think, yeah, tomorrow I have good confidence, so it’s going to be a good race and then hopefully I can get the win one more time in the race weekend,” he concluded.