MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen ended the 2026 FIA F3 season with victory in Feature Race 2 at the Spanish GP, while Campos Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu finished second to secure the Drivers’ Championship at the Madring.
Taponen controlled the race from pole despite sustained pressure from Ugochukwu, who knew a strong finish would put the title beyond TRIDENT’s Freddie Slater. Rodin Motorsport’s Pedro Clerot completed the podium after another impressive Madrid drive, while Slater could only recover to eighth following a difficult weekend.
A late Safety Car threatened to change the order and set up a one-lap shoot-out, but Taponen handled the restart cleanly to seal victory. Ugochukwu resisted Clerot for second and secured the 2026 F3 crown, while Taponen’s result also helped MP Motorsport seal third in the Teams’ Championship.
2026 F3 Madrid Feature Race 2 grid puts Ugochukwu in control
Taponen started the final race of the season from pole after topping Qualifying 2, with championship leader Ugochukwu alongside him on the front row. After finishing third in Feature Race 1, Taponen also entered Sunday fighting to improve on sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.
Clerot lined up third following his Feature Race 1 victory, with ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato fourth. MP Motorsport placed all three cars near the front, as Mattia Colnaghi started fifth and Alessandro Giusti seventh, either side of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny in sixth.
The championship picture placed even greater emphasis on the fourth row. Slater started eighth after entering Madrid as the Drivers’ Championship leader but falling behind Ugochukwu following a difficult Sprint and retirement from Feature Race 1. AIX Racing’s Yevan David started ninth, while Campos Racing’s Ernesto Rivera completed the top 10.
Rodin Motorsport’s Brando Badoer started 11th, ahead of PREMA Racing’s Alex Powell and Campos Racing’s Théophile Naël. With Ugochukwu starting six places ahead of Slater, the American entered the race with the immediate track-position advantage in their championship decider.
Taponen controls the start of the 2026 F3 Madrid Feature Race 2 as the season concludes at the Spanish GP
Unlike the incident-filled opening lap of Feature Race 1, the final race began cleanly. Taponen launched well from pole and retained the lead ahead of Ugochukwu, while Clerot remained third.
Slater’s opening lap made his championship task harder. The TRIDENT driver dropped from eighth to ninth and immediately found himself under pressure from Rivera as Ugochukwu settled into second.
By Lap 3, Ugochukwu sat just 0.6 seconds behind Taponen, but Clerot emerged as the fastest of the leading three and remained close to the championship leader. Slater, meanwhile, found himself stuck behind David as he tried to recover the position he had lost.
His fightback began on Lap 4. Slater attacked David around the outside at Turn 1 and completed the move to return to eighth, but Deligny became his next obstacle.
Slater struggles to progress in the 2026 F3 title decider in Madrid
A brief yellow flag appeared on Lap 5 when DAMS Lucas Oil’s Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi found the wall at Turn 5. He managed to recover and the circuit quickly returned to green-flag conditions, although Bhirombhakdi subsequently pitted and rejoined one lap down.
At the front, Taponen continued to lead Ugochukwu and Clerot. Further back, Slater closed on Deligny but struggled to find a way through around a circuit that had already demonstrated how difficult overtaking could be.
By Lap 7, Slater remained behind the Van Amersfoort Racing driver. Deligny had been informed that the championship contender could attempt a move, but Slater initially remained patient as he searched for an opportunity.
The gap continued to decrease approaching Lap 10. Slater eventually attacked at the Turn 5-6 chicane, but Deligny defended and the TRIDENT driver could not make the move stick. With Ugochukwu still second, every lap Slater spent behind the Frenchman strengthened the Campos driver’s position in the championship.
Taponen breaks DRS before Ugochukwu responds
Taponen gradually increased his advantage at the front and moved 1.2 seconds clear on Lap 11, taking Ugochukwu outside DRS range. That briefly left the Campos driver more vulnerable to Clerot, who remained close behind in third.
However, Ugochukwu responded and reduced the gap back towards nine tenths before returning within DRS range on Lap 12. Half a second eventually separated the leading pair as the title contender kept Taponen under pressure without taking unnecessary risks.
Behind them, Kato began closing on Clerot in the fight for the final podium place. The ART Grand Prix driver pushed hard from fourth and briefly locked up at Turn 17 on Lap 14 as he attempted to stay within striking distance.
Naël also faced pressure further down the order as he fought Hiyu Yamakoshi for 12th. The Campos driver managed to retain the position as the race moved towards its closing stages.
Feature Race 2 settles into tense final phase
With five laps remaining, Taponen continued to hold the lead by approximately half a second over Ugochukwu. Clerot remained third ahead of Kato, leaving the leading quartet largely unchanged despite the small gaps between them.
Slater, meanwhile, could make no further progress. His attempts to pass Deligny had stalled, and by Lap 16 he instead found David closing behind him.
David then made a mistake, allowing Rivera to move through and take ninth. Slater remained eighth, leaving him well behind Ugochukwu on the road as the championship moved towards its conclusion.
The race had remained relatively controlled after the opening laps, but that changed on Lap 17. Yamakoshi stopped on the approach to Turn 8, forcing Race Control to deploy the Safety Car and eliminating the gaps throughout the field.
The timing created one final opportunity for the order to change. After Yamakoshi’s car was recovered quickly, the Safety Car returned to the pits at the end of Lap 18 and left the field with a one-lap shoot-out to decide the final race of the 2026 season.
Late Safety Car creates one-lap 2026 F3 Madrid shoot-out
Taponen controlled the restart from the front and waited until the appropriate moment before accelerating away. Ugochukwu remained second but immediately came under pressure from Clerot, who saw one final opportunity to improve on third.
Another yellow flag briefly appeared when PREMA Racing’s José Garfias stopped on track, but he cleared the circuit and the race remained green. That allowed the leaders to complete the final lap without another Safety Car intervention.
Taponen maintained his advantage and crossed the line first to secure victory, completing a strong Madrid weekend after his third-place finish in Feature Race 1. His result also helped MP Motorsport secure third place in the Teams’ Championship after entering the final race embroiled in a close fight behind champions Campos.
Ugochukwu resisted Clerot’s late challenge and finished second. Clerot completed the podium in third, ending a Madrid weekend that also included victory in Feature Race 1.
Slater reached the chequered flag in eighth. After arriving at Madrid as the championship leader, his difficult finale ended with runner-up honours in the Drivers’ standings.
Ugochukwu seals the 2026 F3 Drivers’ Championship in Madrid with P2 in Feature Race 2 at the Spanish GP
Ugochukwu entered Feature Race 2 level with Slater on 141 points but held the official championship lead after Feature Race 1. Starting second compared with Slater’s eighth gave him an immediate advantage, but the title remained open until the final laps.
The Campos Racing driver spent almost the entire race directly behind Taponen and resisted pressure from Clerot without losing the position he needed. Slater initially recovered eighth from David but could not progress beyond Deligny, leaving the TRIDENT driver unable to close the points gap.
The late Safety Car added one final element of uncertainty, particularly as Clerot attacked Ugochukwu for second at the restart. However, Ugochukwu held his position through the final lap and crossed the line behind Taponen to become the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Champion.
The result completed a championship double for Campos Racing after the team had already secured the Teams’ title in Feature Race 1. Slater finished the season as runner-up after a campaign that remained undecided until the final race.
For Taponen and MP Motorsport, victory also provided a strong conclusion to the season. After starting the finale sixth in the Drivers’ Championship and fighting among the group chasing third, the Finn delivered maximum race points while helping MP secure P3 in the Teams’ standings.
2026 F3 Spanish GP Feature Race 2 results
