ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato continued his strong Madrid weekend by recovering from 12th on the Sprint Race grid to score points at the Madring.
The Japanese driver faced a difficult task on a circuit where overtaking proved challenging, but he worked his way forward and produced one of the race’s standout passes when he went around MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen at Turn 5. Kato initially moved into 10th before Enzo Deligny’s 10-second penalty promoted him another position.
The result added further points to Kato’s 2026 FIA Formula 3 tally and, importantly, gave ART valuable race information before the two Feature Races. Kato starts Feature Race 1 from pole before lining up fourth for Feature Race 2, giving him two opportunities to convert his strong Madrid pace into another victory.
Kato fights through difficult Madrid Sprint
Overtaking opportunities remained limited throughout the inaugural Sprint Race at the Madring, even with DRS. Kato nevertheless made progress from 12th, first moving past Pedro Clerot before closing on Taponen.
The ART driver eventually found his opportunity when Taponen lost DRS from the car ahead. Kato used his straight-line speed to draw alongside before committing to the move at Turn 5.
“I think it was really great,” he said to Formula 3 after Qualifying. “Overall, really difficult to overtake here and I think you saw that in the race. There was no overtaking point, and really difficult to overtake the car in front, even with DRS.
“We had a good start and gained some points. I was able to overtake Pedro and then at that point, I was P11. Then, Lap 12 or 13 I was able to overtake Tuukka in front because he didn’t have DRS.
“I had good top speed, I could go side-by-side into T5 and then brake later to move in front. But it was really tough to be honest. But happy to finally have gained the position.”
Kato’s ability to complete the move proved particularly notable on a day when much of the field struggled to make progress in traffic. Deligny’s subsequent penalty then lifted him another place in the final classification.
Sprint provides crucial data for ART ahead of Feature Races
Beyond the points, the Sprint gave Kato and ART their first opportunity to study how the Madring behaves across a full race distance. With Formula 3 holding the first Championship race at the new venue, teams entered Saturday without previous racing data to guide their approach.
Kato expects similar challenges in the two Feature Races, particularly when it comes to tyre management and controlling gaps to the cars around him. He also stressed the importance of communication with his engineers as ART continues gathering information across the unusual three-race Madrid weekend.
“It’s going to be the same situation in the two Feature Races I guess. I will just focus on the tyre saving and also managing the gap in front and behind.
“Good communication with the engineers. When you have to close or not because we need to get some data for the other Feature Race.
“So we need to get clean air. Because we start in P1 in the Feature Race, and P4 in the other Feature too. I think it’s quite a different story as it was a Sprint Race. So we can gather as much data as we can.”
His starting positions should allow ART to approach the remaining races from a different perspective. Instead of recovering through traffic, Kato will have the opportunity to use clean air and control his own pace from the front in Feature Race 1.
Kato carries confidence from Sprint into pole start
Kato believes the information gathered during the Sprint confirmed ART’s competitiveness around Madrid. His recovery from 12th also strengthened his confidence before starting the first Feature Race from pole.
The Sprint allowed the team to assess tyre behaviour and race pace while Kato experienced the difficulty of following and overtaking around the Madring. With that knowledge available, he believes ART has a strong platform for the remaining races.
“We had really good data from the Sprint Race. So I think we have really good car performance and good confidence for the two races.”
The Feature Race starting positions also give Kato a clear opportunity to add significantly to his championship total. He enters the final two races targeting further progress in the Drivers’ standings after his strong late-season form.
Kato sets Madrid Feature Race victory as his target
Kato arrived in Madrid following a strong weekend at Monza and has carried that momentum into the season finale. However, despite his recent form, he remains focused on adding another Feature Race victory before the 2026 campaign concludes.
Starting from pole in Feature Race 1 gives him his first opportunity, while fourth on the Feature Race 2 grid keeps him in contention for another major result on Sunday.
“For sure we can get another win. We have a really good mindset from the Monza. Obviously, it was a mighty weekend in Monza. But still, I couldn’t win the Feature Race. So I think this time the target is to win in the Feature.”
Kato’s Sprint recovery showed that ART has competitive race pace even when forced to work through traffic. With pole position and the benefit of the data collected on Saturday morning, he now enters Feature Race 1 with a far clearer opportunity to fight for the result he wants most from the Madrid finale.
