Ugo Ugochukwu secured a front-row starting position for Sunday’s Feature Race 2 after qualifying second in Qualifying 2 at Madrid, completing a strong day across both sessions as he continues his fight for the FIA Formula 3 (F3) championship.
The Campos Racing driver had already secured P4 in Qualifying 1, giving him a strong starting position for Saturday’s Sprint Race and Feature Race 1, before going one better in Q2 to secure P2 for Sunday’s Feature Race 2.
With title rival Freddie Slater struggling throughout both F3 Madrid Qualifying sessions, finishing P17 in Q1 before recovering to P8 in Q2, Ugochukwu has put himself in a strong position to maximise his points haul across the final races of the season.
Speaking in the FIA Formula 3 post-qualifying press conference, with Pit Debrief in attendance, Ugochukwu reflected on a positive qualifying day and the importance of executing clean laps around the new Madrid street circuit.
“Yeah, for sure, it was a positive day for us. Two good qualifying sessions are exactly what we needed. I think we executed everything well, with no mistakes, and I got the lap in when we needed it. I am pretty happy overall and pretty happy with my lap, I think I maximised it to the limit.”
“Some of the others were quite quick today, so P4 and P2, we will take it. I think we can look forward to the races and maximise our points.”
Championship mindset for Ugochukwu in Madrid
With three races remaining across the Madrid weekend, Ugochukwu knows that consistency will be key as he looks to capitalise on his strong qualifying positions.
Asked what his mindset would be heading into the races and whether the championship would remain at the forefront of his thinking, Ugochukwu said the priority would be avoiding mistakes and collecting as many points as possible.
“Yeah, for sure. I think two clean, or three clean races would be nice, picking up the points along the way. But we will see how the race unfolds.”
“These are going to be the first races here in Madrid, so we do not fully know what to expect on the racing side. We will see if on Sunday we have an opportunity to go for the win. It would be nice to get another one under our belt.”
“But overall, of course, points are the main thing. It is no secret that is what is going to get us the championship.”
Ugochukwu has also quickly developed a favourite section of the new Madrid circuit, highlighting Turns 10 and 11 as one of the most challenging parts of the lap.
“I would have to say Turns 10 and 11, before Monumental, the fast chicane. That is a super-tricky corner, and you can gain quite a bit of time when you are on the limit.”
“We were quite quick through sector two, so maybe I am a little bit biased as well.”
No room for mistakes
The pressure of qualifying strongly was particularly important given the championship situation, but Ugochukwu insisted that his focus remained on producing a clean and committed lap.
Asked about the pressure of qualifying with the championship battle in mind, as well as whether the disruptions seen during the F2 sessions could have affected the F3 field, Ugochukwu explained the challenge of finding the limit around Madrid.
“Yeah, for sure. There was no pressure to deliver, do a good lap, especially on a track like this with no room for margin. You need to be very on the limit if you want to qualify well and be in the front row.”
“I knew I had to commit in and every lap I tried to push him more and more, getting closer to the limits. But of course, there’s no room for mistake at this point in the season.”
“That’s what I managed to do, avoid any big mistakes and conclude a solid quali also.”
Ugochukwu prepares for Madrid’s first race
With the Madring presenting a new, fresh circuit for 2026, the opening races will provide the first real indication of how the track behaves in race conditions.
Pit Debrief asked Ugochukwu what the biggest unknown would be heading into the first race and how much risk he expected the drivers to take around the street circuit.
“Yeah, for sure it will be interesting. The first few races on this circuit, we’ll see how the racing unfolds. We’ll see how easy it is to overtake, how hard it is to follow.”
“Some high-speed corners and a little bit of tire dragging and overheating. Those will be things that we’ll see quite well in the sprint race. And for sure everyone will try to improve that for the next two races.”
Ugochukwu expects the approach required during the races to be different from qualifying, with tyre management and avoiding the walls becoming more important once the lights go out.
“But yeah, I think overall in the races it’s usually you’re less on the limit, risking a bit less, not as close to the walls, also saving your tyres.”
“So I think quali was probably the harder part of the weekend, let’s say. And now it’s about managing the races as best as we can.”
Same approach for the championship fight
Despite the added importance of the 2026 F3 Madrid weekend, Ugochukwu does not intend to change his approach as the championship reaches its final stage.
Asked whether the championship situation would alter his approach to the weekend, Ugochukwu said his focus remained on maximising each session rather than allowing the title fight to change his preparation.
“Yeah, I would say our approach overall doesn’t change too much. I try to keep the same approach coming through the weekend. Focus on ourselves and maximise the quali. Because I knew that would be one of the key points for the weekend.”
“So going to the races, the mindset is the same. Try to have two strong races and pick up the points So we can have the same mindset, I would say, going into this last part of the championship.”
