Matteo De Palo claimed victory in the 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) Feature Race at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix weekend, finishing ahead of Ernesto Rivera in second and Maciej Gładysz in third. See the full report below.
Freddie Slater started from pole position after securing his maiden Formula 3 pole in Friday’s Qualifying at his home event. Campos Racing’s Théophile Naël lined up alongside him on the front row after charging from P11 to P3 in Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Before the race could properly get underway, the field completed two formation laps after a spill on the circuit delayed the start. As a result, one lap was deducted from the scheduled race distance.
Green lights for the Feature Race
When the lights finally went out, Naël made an excellent launch and immediately challenged Slater for the lead into the opening corners. Behind them, Louis Sharp held onto third, while the entire field safely negotiated the opening lap without incident.
Further back, Alessandro Giusti endured a difficult opening lap, losing several positions as Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu capitalised to climb from 12th on the grid into the points in 10th.
With DRS enabled on Lap 2, TRIDENT’s Matteo De Palo began his charge forward, making a decisive move on Sharp into the Vale Chicane to take third place.
One lap later, De Palo continued his progress by overtaking Naël for second at Stowe, promoting TRIDENT into a one-two formation behind race leader Slater.
De Palo’s pace proved relentless, and he soon challenged his teammate for the lead. The Italian completed a clean move on the inside at Stowe to take first place, making the most of his early tyre advantage to seize control of the race.
Elsewhere, Shin was handed a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Nicola Lacorte retired from the race with mechanical issues.
DRS train from P1 to P24
By Lap 6 of the 2026 F3 Feature Race at the British GP weekend, a huge DRS train had formed from race leader De Palo all the way back to Barrichello in P24, with the field running nose-to-tail around the Silverstone Circuit. Meanwhile, Maciej Gładysz pulled off an impressive move around the outside of Ernesto Rivera at Stowe to take sixth place, before Slater reclaimed the race lead from De Palo later in the lap.
The battles continued on Lap 8, with Rivera fighting back at the Vale Chicane. The Campos Racing driver dived down the inside of Gładysz to retake sixth position.
Further behind, Ugochukwu continued his recovery drive, overtaking McLaughlin for ninth on Lap 10.
By Lap 11, tyre degradation was becoming a key factor, with graining and visible banding appearing on the front-left tyres across much of the field. Sharp began closing in on Naël in the fight for the final podium position, but the Campos Racing driver defended well to keep the PREMA driver behind.
Two laps later, De Palo reclaimed the lead with another move on Slater, while Naël remained third. Rivera’s strong pace continued as he climbed to fourth after overtaking both Gładysz and Sharp, while Sharp slipped back to ninth after losing several positions during the lap.
Ugochukwu’s charge through the field also continued. The Campos Racing driver completed a superb double overtake on Sharp and Noah Strømsted through the same sequence of corners, moving up to seventh place.
De Palo and Slater breaking away out front
By Lap 16, De Palo and Slater had broken clear of the DRS train behind them, with Naël beginning to lose touch with the leading pair. Behind him, Rivera closed in rapidly and started applying pressure in the fight for the final podium position.
Elsewhere, several drivers came under investigation for repeated track limits violations as the race 2026 Fentered its closing stages.
On Lap 18, Naël began to close the gap once again, moving back into DRS range of Slater as the battle for second intensified.
Moments later, Ricardo Escotto slowed on track following contact with one of the DAMS Lucas Oil cars, prompting the deployment of the Safety Car.
The Safety Car peeled into the pit lane with one lap remaining, setting up a dramatic sprint to the finish. De Palo controlled the restart from Club Corner, but was immediately challenged by teammate Slater. The two TRIDENT drivers ran side by side for the lead, making contact three times over the final lap as they battled for victory. Slater ultimately lost momentum in the fight, slipping down the order to finish sixth.
At the chequered flag, Matteo De Palo claimed victory, with Théophile Naël crossing the line in second and Ernesto Rivera in third.
However, the classification changed after the race. Naël was handed a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, dropping the Campos Racing driver to 16th. The penalty promoted Rivera to second, while Maciej Gładysz inherited third, securing his maiden F3 podium at Silverstone in the 2026 British GP weekend Feature Race.
See the full 2026 F3 Feature Race at the British GP results here.
