Yevan David’s rookie FIA Formula 3 season required patience before it delivered results. The AIX Racing driver opened his 2026 F3 campaign with four scoreless rounds, but a breakthrough at Silverstone changed its complexion for David and provided the foundation for a much stronger second half.
David eventually finished 18th in the Drivers’ Championship with 35 points, comfortably leading AIX Racing’s scoring. His season included a historic maiden podium at Silverstone and two impressive recovery drives at Monza, where he scored 19 points across one weekend. Those performances demonstrated the potential that his early results had failed to capture.
David makes history before the season even begins
David arrived in F3 after a rapid progression through single-seaters. He only began his first full car-racing season in 2024 before finishing runner-up in the 2025 Euroformula Open Championship with six victories and 14 podiums. AIX Racing subsequently made him the first driver confirmed for the 2026 F3 grid, while his promotion also made him the first Sri Lankan driver to compete in the championship.
David entered the year enthusiastic but aware of the challenge ahead. He described reaching F3 as a childhood dream and used pre-season testing to build confidence with the car. Pit Debrief’s pre-season discussion with David highlighted his strong 2025 form and the excitement surrounding his step onto the Formula 1 support bill. However, his opening weekends quickly showed how demanding the transition would become.
A scoreless start tests David’s patience
David struggled to turn his preparation into immediate results in Melbourne. He finished 22nd in the Sprint Race and 21st in the Feature Race, leaving Australia without points. During the lengthy break before Monaco, he focused on resetting after an opening weekend that fell short of both his and AIX Racing’s expectations.
Monaco brought another setback. David became involved in contact with Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi during the Feature Race and received a 10-second penalty for causing the collision, eventually finishing 20th. Barcelona and Spielberg also produced no points, leaving David scoreless through the opening four rounds.
The difficult start did not necessarily mean that AIX lacked potential, but David had yet to put together the qualifying performance and clean races required to exploit it. He recognised that difference himself: displaying potential mattered little if he could not execute across an entire weekend. Silverstone finally provided the answer.
Silverstone transforms David’s rookie campaign
David showed stronger pace from the beginning of the British GP weekend and carried it into Qualifying. He took 11th, his best F3 qualifying result at that stage, which placed him second on the reverse-grid Sprint Race start. His Silverstone qualifying breakthrough gave him the first genuine opportunity of his rookie season to fight near the front.
Ugo Ugochukwu pulled clear after the start, leaving David to defend second from an increasingly aggressive chasing group. Rather than allowing the pressure to force an error, David managed his exits and positioned the car carefully throughout the closing stages. He crossed the line second to claim his first F3 points and maiden podium, becoming the first Sri Lankan driver to stand on an FIA F3 podium.
David then backed up the result with seventh in the Feature Race, taking his weekend total to 15 points. After arriving at Silverstone scoreless, he left with both a podium and proof that he could compete towards the front when he executed every stage of the weekend.
Monza confirms Silverstone was no isolated performance
Spa and Budapest failed to add to David’s tally, threatening to make Silverstone look like an isolated breakthrough. However, Monza produced his strongest overall weekend and showed that his British GP performance had reflected genuine development.
A difficult qualifying session left David 17th for the Sprint Race, but he steadily worked his way through the field. He managed the slipstream battles effectively and continued gaining positions before passing Alessandro Giusti at the final corner on the final lap. His charge from 17th to fourth earned seven points and narrowly missed another podium.
David repeated the result in the Feature Race. He again moved forward during the closing stages and passed Kanato Le at the final corner to secure fourth and another 12 points. The two results gave him 19 across the weekend and represented arguably the clearest demonstration of his racecraft during the season.
Unlike Silverstone, where reverse-grid positioning helped create the initial opportunity, Monza required David to recover through the field in both races. That distinction strengthened the argument that he had made genuine progress during his rookie year.
David emerges as AIX Racing’s clear benchmark
David’s performances carried additional weight within AIX Racing. The team endured significant disruption after Brad Benavides suffered an injury in Monaco, forcing Ricardo Escotto and Salim Hanna to share the third car at different stages of the season. Fernando Barrichello, meanwhile, scored two points during his own rookie campaign.
David therefore became AIX’s most consistent source of results. Benavides scored six points in Melbourne before his injury, while Barrichello added two in Budapest. David contributed 35 of the team’s 43-point total and delivered its only podium of the season.
Madrid brought one final point in Feature Race 2. David battled among the top 10 early in the race and briefly moved ahead of championship contender Freddie Slater before eventually taking 10th. That result moved him to 35 points and 18th in the final 2026 F3 standings.
A slow start gives way to a promising rookie campaign
David’s 18th-place championship finish does not immediately stand out, particularly because he only scored in three rounds. That lack of consistency remains the main weakness of his rookie campaign. Four scoreless rounds opened his season, while Spa and Budapest produced another gap between his breakthrough weekends.
However, the quality of his strongest performances gives 2026 a much more positive complexion. David defended under sustained pressure to claim a historic Silverstone podium, then demonstrated strong overtaking and race management during two charges to fourth at Monza. He also comfortably outscored every other driver who represented AIX during the season.
David entered F3 with only two full years of single-seater experience and ended his rookie campaign as AIX Racing’s clear benchmark. His next challenge lies in reducing the distance between his best weekends and the scoreless ones. Silverstone and Monza showed how competitive he can become; greater consistency would allow his championship position to reflect that level more accurately.
