Ugo Ugochukwu is the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Champion after finishing second in the season-ending F3 Feature Race 2 at the Spanish GP in Madrid, overturning the championship deficit he carried into the final round to defeat Freddie Slater by 14 points.
The Campos Racing driver entered Sunday’s finale level with Slater on 141 points after Saturday’s dramatic Feature Race 1 reshaped the F3 Championship standings. Ugochukwu then added 18 points with second place in the final race, while Slater finished eighth and collected four, producing final totals of 159 and 145 respectively.
MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen ended his season with victory from pole and the fastest lap, collecting 28 points to surge from sixth to third in the final Drivers’ Championship. Pedro Clerot completed the podium ahead of Taito Kato, while Mattia Colnaghi, Alessandro Giusti, Enzo Deligny, Slater, Ernesto Rivera and Yevan David completed the points-paying positions in Madrid Feature Race 2.
Ugochukwu overturns 15-point Madrid deficit to win 2026 F3 title
Ugochukwu arrived in Madrid 15 points behind Slater, with the TRIDENT driver leading 141 to 126 after Monza. The expanded Spanish GP finale completely reversed that position.
The Campos driver scored three points in the Sprint Race before adding 12 through fourth place in Feature Race 1. Slater failed to score in either contest, leaving the pair tied on 141 ahead of the final race, with Ugochukwu officially first on countback.
Feature Race 2 therefore became a direct title decider. Ugochukwu started from the front row alongside Taponen, while Slater lined up eighth after his more difficult Qualifying 2.
Ugochukwu ultimately finished second and added 18 points. Slater remained eighth and collected four, giving the Campos driver a final total of 159 and the championship by 14 points. The official standings show Ugochukwu scoring 33 points across Madrid’s three races compared with only four for Slater, creating a 29-point swing across the season finale.
That reversal completed a season-long championship fight that repeatedly changed direction. Ugochukwu had led for much of the opening part of the campaign before Slater moved ahead during the second half, but Madrid ultimately returned the advantage to the Campos driver when it mattered most.
Taponen charges from sixth to third with Madrid victory
Behind the championship contenders, Taponen produced the largest final-race gain at the front of the standings.
The MP Motorsport driver entered Feature Race 2 sixth on 81 points after taking third and the fastest lap in Feature Race 1. He had already earned another two points by taking pole in Qualifying 2, placing himself at the front for the final race.
Taponen then converted pole into victory and added the fastest lap, giving him the maximum 28-point return available from the session. His total jumps from 81 to 109, taking him past Rivera, Théophile Naël and Kato to finish third in the championship.
The final result is particularly significant given how far Taponen had been from the leading positions earlier in the season. His strong Madrid weekend ultimately delivered 45 points across the two Feature Races, fastest laps and Qualifying bonus, allowing him to secure the final championship podium position.
Kato finishes fourth as Clerot draws level with Naël
Kato also completed an excellent Madrid weekend. The ART Grand Prix driver entered the final race third on 93 points after his second place and pole in Feature Race 1, before adding another 12 points by finishing fourth on Sunday.
His final total of 105 leaves him fourth in the championship, four points behind Taponen. Although he loses the third position he held after Saturday, Kato still ends the year comfortably ahead of the group immediately behind.
Naël failed to score in Feature Race 2 and therefore remained on 88 points. Clerot, meanwhile, followed his Feature Race 1 victory with third in the season finale, adding another 15 points and moving from 73 to 88.
The official standings place Naël fifth and Clerot sixth on countback. Rivera collected two points for ninth but falls from fifth after Feature Race 1 to seventh overall on 87, just one point behind both drivers ahead of him.
Badoer and Yamakoshi remain tied as top 10 freezes behind Rivera
Brando Badoer and Hiyu Yamakoshi both failed to score in the final race and finish the season tied on 71 points. The official classification places Badoer eighth and Yamakoshi ninth on countback.
Noah Strømsted also failed to add to his total and remains 10th on 65. Bruno del Pino follows on 57, while Maciej Gładysz ends the season 12th on 54.
Colnaghi joined Gładysz on 54 after his fifth-place finish in Feature Race 2 earned him 10 points. However, Gładysz retains 12th on countback, leaving the MP Motorsport driver 13th.
Jin Nakamura did not score and falls one place to 14th on 53 as Colnaghi moves ahead.
Giusti and Deligny make late gains in final F3 standings
Giusti completed MP Motorsport’s exceptional final race with sixth place. His eight points increase his total from 37 to 45, moving him from 16th after Feature Race 1 to 15th in the final standings.
Deligny also gained two championship positions after finishing seventh for Van Amersfoort Racing. His six-point return moves him from 34 to 40 and into 16th overall.
James Wharton consequently drops to 17th despite remaining on 39 points. David collected the final point in 10th and reaches 35, finishing 18th ahead of Nicola Lacorte and Kanato Le.
Alex Powell ends his two-round F3 campaign 23rd with 14 points, all scored during the Madrid Sprint and Feature Race 1. His PREMA Racing teammates did not add to the team’s total in the final race.
Final 2026 F3 Drivers’ Championship standings
The official FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship standings confirm Ugochukwu as champion on 159 points, 14 clear of Slater. Taponen’s victory moves him onto the championship podium ahead of Kato.
- Ugo Ugochukwu — 159 points
- Freddie Slater — 145 points
- Tuukka Taponen — 109 points
- Taito Kato — 105 points
- Théophile Naël — 88 points
- Pedro Clerot — 88 points
- Ernesto Rivera — 87 points
- Brando Badoer — 71 points
- Hiyu Yamakoshi — 71 points
- Noah Strømsted — 65 points
- Bruno del Pino — 57 points
- Maciej Gładysz — 54 points
- Mattia Colnaghi — 54 points
- Jin Nakamura — 53 points
- Alessandro Giusti — 45 points
- Enzo Deligny — 40 points
- James Wharton — 39 points
- Yevan David — 35 points
- Nicola Lacorte — 33 points
- Kanato Le — 30 points
- Louis Sharp — 21 points
- Gerrard Xie — 20 points
- Alex Powell — 14 points
- Matteo De Palo — 7 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
- Ricardo Escotto — 0 points
- Patrick Heuzenroeder — 0 points
- Woohyun Shin — 0 points
- Salim Hanna — 0 points
Niccolò Maccagnani also finishes on zero points after making his F3 debut with Rodin Motorsport in Madrid. His current FIA driver profile lists zero championship points but does not assign him a season position.
MP Motorsport takes third with huge Feature Race 2 score
Campos Racing had already secured the Teams’ Championship during Feature Race 1, entering Sunday with an unassailable 101-point advantage over TRIDENT. However, the battle for third remained wide open between ART Grand Prix, Van Amersfoort Racing, MP Motorsport and Rodin Motorsport.
MP produced the decisive performance.
Taponen supplied 28 points through victory, pole and fastest lap, Colnaghi added 10 for fifth and Giusti contributed eight for sixth. Their combined 46-point haul takes MP from 162 to 208 points and lifts the Dutch team from fifth after Feature Race 1 to third in the final standings.
MP therefore finishes only nine points behind TRIDENT despite entering the final race 51 behind the Italian team. TRIDENT added only Slater’s four points and ends the campaign on 217.
Campos finishes 117 points clear of TRIDENT
Campos strengthened an already-secured Teams’ Championship through Ugochukwu and Rivera.
Ugochukwu’s second place contributed 18 points and Rivera’s ninth added two, taking Campos from 314 to a final total of 334. Naël did not score.
TRIDENT added only four points through Slater, while Strømsted and De Palo remained outside the top 10. The final gap therefore grows from 101 points after Feature Race 1 to 117.
Campos consequently completes its second consecutive Teams’ Championship with more than 100 points in hand, while also taking the Drivers’ title through Ugochukwu.
ART slips to fourth despite Kato points
ART Grand Prix entered Feature Race 2 third on 177 points, 15 clear of both Van Amersfoort Racing and MP Motorsport.
Kato added 12 points through fourth place, taking ART to 189, but MP’s extraordinary 46-point return proved impossible to match. ART consequently falls one position and finishes fourth.
Van Amersfoort Racing added six points through Deligny and reaches 168. That leaves the team fifth, seven points ahead of Rodin Motorsport.
Clerot supplied all 15 of Rodin’s final-race points through third place, moving the team from 146 to 161. Rodin therefore ends the year sixth, having closed much of the gap to Van Amersfoort during the Madrid weekend.
PREMA, Hitech and DAMS remain unchanged
PREMA Racing failed to score in the final race and remains seventh on 75 points.
Hitech similarly stays on 55 after Nakamura and its other entries finished outside the points. DAMS Lucas Oil remains ninth on 53.
AIX Racing was the only team in the bottom four to add to its total. David’s 10th-place point moves the team from 42 to 43, although it remains 10th in the championship.
Final 2026 F3 Teams’ Championship standings
The official FIA Formula 3 Teams’ Championship standings confirm Campos Racing as champion on 334 points. MP Motorsport’s 46-point final race moves it into third behind TRIDENT.
- Campos Racing — 334 points
- TRIDENT — 217 points
- MP Motorsport — 208 points
- ART Grand Prix — 189 points
- Van Amersfoort Racing — 168 points
- Rodin Motorsport — 161 points
- PREMA Racing — 75 points
- Hitech — 55 points
- DAMS Lucas Oil — 53 points
- AIX Racing — 43 points
Campos therefore leaves Madrid with both 2026 F3 championships. The team had wrapped up the Teams’ crown one race earlier before Ugochukwu completed the double by overturning his deficit to Slater in the final Feature Race.
Taponen’s victory provided the other major final-day change, elevating him to third in the Drivers’ Championship while helping MP Motorsport leap from fifth to third among the teams. After arriving in Madrid 15 points behind, Ugochukwu ultimately leaves the inaugural Madring finale as champion by 14, bringing the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season to a dramatic conclusion.
