Peter Bouzinelos finally brought a difficult sequence of races to an end with two points-scoring finishes at the 2026 GB3 Red Bull Ring round.
The Hillspeed driver encountered more trouble during the opening race in Austria, but he responded strongly on Sunday and completed both remaining contests. He concluded the fourth round of the GB3 Championship with ninth place in the reverse-grid finale and renewed confidence ahead of Silverstone.
Opening-race collision extends difficult run for Bouzinelos in 2026 GB3 Championship
Bouzinelos arrived in Spielberg hoping to recover from a challenging weekend at the Hungaroring. Although he recorded a season-best eighth place in the opening Budapest race, incidents ended his other two contests prematurely.
However, his fortunes initially showed little sign of changing in Austria. A difficult qualifying session left him 15th on the race-one grid and 13th for Race 2.
Another collision then ended his opening contest at turn three and handed him a third consecutive retirement.
“I got unlucky in Race 1 and got hit off by the driver behind me,” said Bouzinelos to GB3.
The incident added further frustration after his Budapest collisions had already forced the Australian and Hillspeed to replace several damaged components.
Bouzinelos prioritises a clean finish
Nevertheless, Bouzinelos changed the direction of his weekend during Sunday’s two races. He reached the chequered flag in both contests, scored points and avoided further damage to his car.
After several costly incidents, the 20-year-old placed particular importance on completing the final race without trouble.
“These past couple of weeks with Budapest, I’ve been throwing a bunch of money at my car for parts and stuff [due to collisions],” he said. “For Race 3, I knew I had to finish and make sure the car was in one piece. We finished in the points, and the car is in one piece, so I am grateful for that.”
Bouzinelos combined that cautious approach with a competitive drive and secured ninth place in the reverse-grid encounter. Consequently, he left Austria with two valuable finishes and a welcome end to his sequence of retirements.
Rookie season continues to provide lessons
The Red Bull Ring round also took the championship to the halfway stage, giving Bouzinelos an opportunity to assess the opening half of his first GB3 campaign.
So far, incidents and limited recent racing experience have complicated his progress. However, he continues to gain knowledge with every outing in the Tatuus MSV GB3-025.
“It’s been a learning curve,” he said. “It’s rough at the moment and hopefully the luck comes to my side towards the end of the year. But I’ve definitely been learning.”
The 2026 campaign represents Bouzinelos’ first full racing season since a serious road traffic accident interrupted his career. A car struck his bicycle in Australia and kept him away from competition for a year.
Bouzinelos originally planned to enter GB3 in 2025, but the accident forced him to postpone that move. As a result, he entered this season while still rebuilding his rhythm and adapting to the championship’s powerful machinery.
“Stepping into a car this powerful and with this much downforce was definitely a shock to me,” he admitted. “It took some time to get used to the car. After a year off, I’m still getting back into the groove off things and back into racing.”
Silverstone experience offers fresh opportunity
Bouzinelos will now turn his attention to Silverstone, where the championship will begin the second half of its season.
Although his results have not yet reflected his full potential, the Hillspeed driver has completed extensive testing at the British circuit. Therefore, he believes that experience can help him take another step forward and climb the drivers’ standings.
“I think Silverstone is going to give me a good shot,” he said. “I’ve done plenty of testing there, I’m sure everyone else has too, so it levels out quite a bit. I can’t wait to go to Silverstone and smash it!”
After finally securing two clean finishes in Austria, Bouzinelos will aim to carry that momentum into Silverstone and convert his growing experience into stronger results.
