Coming into the final round of the F3 FIA Championship, Ugo Ugochukwu started his Italian GP weekend with a dominant lead in free practice (FP). The Prema Racing driver grew confident as his pace was strong throughout the entire session.
In his first year after quite a commanding ascent in Formula 3, Ugochukwu gathered a fair share of points. Currently 16th in the F3 Drivers’ Championship with 41 points, the American had a good start. However, his recent form is imposing, with two back-to-back podiums in the Spa-Francorchamps and Budapest Sprint Races.
Overview of his FP session
Given his pace since lights out, Ugo Ugochukwu proved he is undoubtedly trying to keep his streak of podiums going. His Prema machinery was strong from the beginning at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Ugochukwu’s Free Practice session in preparation for the F3 Italian GP went smoothly.
“It was a pretty good session. The pace is really good. The car is feeling good, and I managed to get in a few good laps. And we ended up on top.”
Recognising the confidence boost this result brought him, the American set his sights on pole. Nevertheless, he remains hopeful that he will be able to find the perfect position, avoiding traffic.
“So it gives us a lot of confidence going into quali. We will see what we can do. The slipstream will be important, but ideally, we have to get good track position, and then we go for pole.”
Difficulties going into Qualifying
After this P1 in Free Practice, Ugochukwu needs to keep the momentum going as he is headed into Qualifying for the F3 Italian GP. The Temple of Speed, as this circuit is commonly known, possesses a challenging layout. With its low downforce and high-speed straights, it puts a lot of pressure on the heavy-braking chicanes.
“There are long straights around here, so you can afford a bit more push laps in a row compared to other tracks,” explained the Prema driver. “But in quali, the track is going to ramp up a bit, and it’s going to be a bit hotter. So we will see how the tyres last. But we definitely got a good indication of where the tyres and the car is going to be.”
Taking this result for what it is, Ugochukwu believes this is a good indication of being able to fight for the podium positions. Moreover, the driver has no complaints about the pace of his Prema.
“To be honest, when you end up on top, everything is pretty good. So you don’t want to change too much on the car ahead of Qualifying.”
Confident in the fight for pole
The McLaren-backed driver has prior experience at the Italian track, winning here in FRECA in 2024. Now in F3, Ugo Ugochukwu has to use all that knowledge to build the perfect flying lap that will get him a P1 for the Italian GP Feature race.
Brimming with confidence, the American looks ready to battle it out on track. Confessing to a certain level of self-assurance due to his past races at Monza, Ugochukwu will now try to turn this motivation into pole.
“Maybe there will be some fine-tuning into quali, but definitely not big steps with the car. But I am definitely confident. I’ve got quite a bit of experience at this track the last few years. And I have always been quite quick around here, to be honest.
“I already had a lot of confidence coming into the weekend, and it’s even stronger now after FP. Obviously, around here, you can win from anywhere. But the first step is quali, and then we will see what we can do in the races.”
The F3 Italian GP Qualifying session starts at 15:00 and 15:20 local time. The format will be similar to Monaco’s, where the drivers will be separated into 2 groups—Group A and Group B.
