2026 F3 Spanish GP | Free Practice results

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Hitech’s Jin Nakamura set the pace in the opening session of the 2026 FIA F3 Madrid finale at the Spanish GP, producing a 1:49.835 to lead Free Practice at the new Madring. ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato finished only 0.101 seconds behind, while Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny completed the top three after improving shortly before a late red flag ended the session.

The 45-minute outing gave the 28-driver field its first competitive track time of the weekend before Friday evening’s two Qualifying sessions. It also opened the final round of a season in which both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships remain at stake.

Competitive times throughout the session

Kato established the early pace before Michael Shin, Nakamura and several others moved through the leading positions as times quickly fell. Ugo Ugochukwu then became one of the session’s regular frontrunners, trading the benchmark with championship rival Freddie Slater as the field gained confidence.

Ernesto Rivera also briefly led with a 1:51.075 before Ugochukwu responded with a 1:50.587. Slater later lowered the target to 1:50.453, but Kato reclaimed P1 with a 1:50.393 as the session entered its closing stages. The title rivals continued to improve. Ugochukwu set a 1:50.268 before Slater answered with a 1:50.196, leaving only 0.072 seconds between them at that point.

Kato then became the first driver to enter the 1:49s with a 1:49.936. Ugochukwu improved to 1:50.000, Rivera followed with a 1:50.002 and Fionn McLaughlin moved into the leading group. However, Nakamura produced the decisive lap with less than two minutes remaining. His 1:49.835 secured the top spot, while Deligny later improved to 1:49.979 and took third. Nicola Lacorte then crashed at Turn 9 in the final minute. Race Control first showed yellow flags before stopping the session with a red flag.

Nakamura therefore led Kato and Deligny, with Ugochukwu fourth, Rivera fifth and Slater sixth ahead of Qualifying.