Gerrard Xie enjoyed several breakthrough moments during the 2026 F3 season, but inconsistent results and poor qualifying performance ultimately overshadowed his progress.
The Chinese driver stepped up to single-seaters in 2022, winning both the F4 Chinese Championship and the Formula Renault Super Challenge in his debut year. He also secured second at the Macau Grand Prix before progressing through GB3, Euroformula Open, and Formula Regional Oceania Championships.
Xie made his FIA Formula 3 debut with Hitech TGR in 2025, finishing P29 in the Drivers’ Standings after a challenging rookie season. Despite scoring just one point, he returned to the championship in 2026 with DAMS Lucas Oil, hoping to improve on his first season.
Difficult start followed by maiden victory
Xie endured a mediocre start to his second F3 season in Melbourne. He qualified P17 before finishing P19 in both the Sprint and Feature Races, leaving the 20-year-old without a point after the opening round.
Following the cancellation of the Bahrain GP, Formula 3 faced a nearly three-month hiatus before returning to action in Monaco. The extended break gave Xie a chance to reset, and he returned with a more competitive showing.
He kicked off Round 2 with P11 in Qualifying, putting himself on the front row for the reverse-grid Sprint Race. Xie made the most of the opportunity, staying out of trouble in a chaotic race to cross the line in P2 behind Hiyu Yamakoshi. However, Yamakoshi was later disqualified for a technical infringement, promoting Xie to P1 in the final classifications. The result marked his maiden F3 victory and made him the first Chinese driver to win a race in the championship.
He followed up his Sprint success with P9 in the Feature Race. Although his Sprint victory came after Yamakoshi’s post-race disqualification rather than an on-track win, Monaco still marked a significant step forward and ultimately proved to be his strongest weekend of the 2026 season.
Barcelona brings another podium
The DAMS Lucas Oil driver continued his promising form in Barcelona, qualifying P12 to start Saturday’s race from reverse-grid pole.
At lights out, Xie made a strong launch to retain the lead into Turn 1. However, his time at the front proved brief, with James Wharton taking the lead on Lap 5 as Xie began to struggle with tyre performance. Freddie Slater later moved ahead as well, dropping Xie to third. Despite further pressure from Tuukka Taponen and two Safety Car periods, Xie held on to P3, securing his second podium of the season.
Xie struggled to carry that momentum into Sunday’s Feature Race, ultimately closing off his weekend with a P15 result. While his back-to-back Sprint podiums showed he could fight near the front, his Feature Race result highlighted his difficulty with translating that pace into consistent results over a full weekend.
A difficult run
Round 4 in Spielberg brought little improvement, with Xie finishing P16 in the Sprint and P25 in the Feature Race. Silverstone brought further difficulties, with Xie qualifying P23 before an early puncture forced him to pit and rejoin at the back of the field in the Sprint Race. He eventually finished P29 and took P22 in Sunday’s Feature Race before further failing to score points at Spa-Francorchamps.
The results represented a clear drop in form following Xie’s podium finishes in Monaco and Barcelona. Unable to replicate his early success, Xie began a points drought that would continue for the remainder of the 2026 F3 season.
Further setbacks in the final rounds
Budapest offered Xie a promising start, as he qualified P10, his best result of the season. However, his weekend quickly unraveled when he got caught in an early Sprint Race collision involving Maciej Gładysz and Jin Nakamura. Despite pitting for repairs and rejoining the race, he could only reach P28 before retiring from Sunday’s race due to another unlucky incident.
Monza brought further disappointment, as Xie qualified P13 but retired after contact with Woohyun Shin sent his car into the barriers. He escaped unharmed, but received a 10-second time penalty, which was converted into a 10-place grid drop for the Feature Race. However, he ultimately couldn’t start the Feature after unexpectedly returning to the garage during the formation lap.
Xie’s season ended after his Monza DNF and DNS, with DAMS Lucas Oil later confirming his withdrawal from the Madrid finale. He finished P22 in the Drivers’ Standings, contributing 20 points to the team’s 53-point total.
Season takeaways
Across the 2026 F3 campaign, Xie demonstrated his potential to compete for a top-three result, with his Monaco win and Barcelona podium marking clear progress from his rookie season. However, his later struggles to score points kept him from translating those performances into a stronger finish.
With his future still unconfirmed, Xie will need to build on those breakthroughs and improve his consistency if he is to return to his 2022 champion self.
