The 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) Australian GP in Melbourne produced plenty of headlines at the Albert Park Circuit. Breakout drives, maiden podiums and unfortunate setbacks shaped the story of the weekend.
From dominant performances to missed chances, here are the biggest winners and losers from the Australian Grand Prix round.
Winners of the 2026 F3 Australian GP
Ugo Ugochukwu – Campos Racing
Ugo Ugochukwu emerged as the standout performer of the opening round of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship at the Albert Park Circuit.
The American signalled his pace early, topping Friday’s Free Practice session by an impressive four tenths of a second. He looked set to convert that speed into pole position during Qualifying, leading the timesheets for much of the session before teammate Théophile Naël produced a last-gasp lap to snatch pole in the closing moments.
Starting the Sprint Race from P11, Ugochukwu quickly began working his way through the field and was running in P9 before an incident between the PREMA Racing drivers promoted him to P7. However, with the race red-flagged and not resumed, only the top five finishers were awarded points in the shortened event, leaving him just outside the scoring positions.
Sunday’s Feature Race provided the perfect opportunity to bounce back. Although Ugochukwu slipped to P3 off the line, he quickly regained ground and surged to the front of the field. At one stage he built a commanding lead of more than seven seconds before a late Safety Car erased his advantage and brought the pack back together.
With the restart only occuring as they passed the chequered flag to complete the race, Ugochukwu maintained control to cross the line in P1, just ahead of Freddie Slater, securing his maiden Formula 3 victory.
With 25 points from the opening round, Ugochukwu leaves Melbourne as the early Drivers’ Championship leader from the F3 Australian GP in 2026, underlining his status as one of the drivers to watch this season.
Bruno del Pino and Enzo Deligny – Van Amersfoort Racing
The Van Amersfoort Racing pairing of del Pino and Deligny also enjoyed a highly successful weekend in Melbourne, particularly during Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Starting from reverse-grid pole, del Pino led the field away, while Deligny lined up alongside him in P2. The pair delivered a composed and commanding performance to secure a 1–2 finish for VAR, with del Pino claiming his maiden F3 victory after previously achieving a best result of second place in 2025. Although the race was shortened due to the red flag and was not resumed, for Deligny, the race marked his first podium in Formula 3 in his debut weekend in the championship.
The momentum continued into Sunday’s Feature Race, where both drivers added further points to their tally. Del Pino produced a strong recovery drive from P12 on the grid, executing several decisive overtakes to climb through the field before ultimately finishing P4 following post-race penalties ahead.
Deligny also benefited from the reshuffled order, finishing the race in P6 in the final classification.
Their combined results see Van Amersfoort Racing leave the opening round at the top of the Teams’ Championship standings, with 30 points on the board after Round 1.
Brando Badoer – Rodin Motorsport
Badoer secured his first Formula 3 podium during Saturday’s Sprint Race after a strong start to the weekend in Melbourne.
The Italian had already shown impressive pace in Friday’s Free Practice session, finishing P2 behind Ugo Ugochukwu. In Qualifying, Badoer placed P8, which positioned him P4 on the reverse grid for the Sprint Race.
From there, he delivered a composed drive, making a decisive move on Noah Strømsted to move into P3. Maintaining consistent pace in the shortened race, Badoer held position to secure his first podium finish in the Formula 3 Championship.
Freddie Slater – TRIDENT
Slater also delivered a standout performance across the weekend in Melbourne, emerging as one of the most competitive drivers throughout the round.
The British driver qualified P3, securing a strong starting position for Sunday’s Feature Race at the 2026 F3 Australian GP. Although the reverse-grid format placed him further back for the Sprint, Slater remained competitive and continued to demonstrate strong race pace throughout the weekend.
Starting from the second row in the Feature Race, Slater made an excellent launch off the line and quickly established himself among the leading group. As the race unfolded, he consistently applied pressure to the leaders and capitalised on opportunities during the Safety Car restart to maintain his position near the front.
Despite the late restart bunching the field together, Slater remained composed in the closing laps and crossed the line in P2, finishing just behind race winner Ugo Ugochukwu.
The result marked Slater’s first Feature Race podium in Formula 3, highlighting his strong start to the season and placing him firmly in early championship contention.
Taito Kato – ART Grand Prix
Kato enjoyed a highly encouraging debut round in the FIA Formula 3 Championship.
After qualifying P7, the Japanese driver started P5 for the Sprint Race under the reverse-grid format. He drove a controlled race to finish P5, collecting his first championship point, with the race awarding reduced points due to its shortened distance.
His weekend improved even further in Sunday’s Feature Race. Running consistently inside the top five, Kato crossed the line in P5, but post-race time penalties for the drivers ahead promoted him to P3 in the final classification.
The result secured Kato’s first Formula 3 podium in his debut race weekend, marking an impressive start to his campaign.
Losers of the 2026 F3 Australian GP
Théophile Naël – Campos Racing
Naël looked poised to secure his first FIA Formula 3 victory after claiming pole position during Friday’s Qualifying session at the 2026 F3 Australian GP.
Despite having an earlier lap deleted for track limits, the French driver delivered a strong final run to secure pole with a 1:34.187, edging out teammate Ugo Ugochukwu for the front row.
Naël initially made a strong start to Sunday’s Feature Race, but his chances quickly unravelled after receiving a five-second time penalty for a false start. The penalty proved costly in a tightly packed field, dropping him down the order and ultimately leaving him classified P12 in the final results.
What could have been a breakthrough victory instead became a frustrating end to an otherwise promising weekend.
James Wharton, Louis Sharp and José Garfias – PREMA Racing
It was a difficult weekend overall for PREMA Racing, with all three drivers encountering setbacks during the opening round.
For Australian driver Wharton and New Zealander Sharp, the weekend ended prematurely following a heavy collision in Saturday’s Sprint Race. After qualifying P8 and P13 respectively, both drivers were running competitive races before coming together at Turn 5, where the pair made contact and crashed heavily into the barriers. Sharp was penalised with a 10 second time penalty for the incident.
Although both drivers were able to walk away from the incident, they sustained back injuries, which ruled them out of Sunday’s Feature Race. The crash meant PREMA lost two cars in the Sprint Race and were forced to run only a single entry the following day.
Their teammate Garfias also endured a challenging Feature Race. The Mexican driver suffered a puncture early in the race, leaving him to circulate at the back of the field for much of the event and unable to challenge for points.
Nicola Lacorte – DAMS Lucas Oil
Lacorte’s Feature Race was undone by a series of penalties and on-track damage despite showing early pace.
The Italian driver received a five-second time penalty for a false start, followed by an additional ten-second penalty for failing to engage the correct starting procedure. While he initially remained competitive and was running inside the top five, the penalties severely compromised his race.
Further misfortune struck when he became involved in an incident with Noah Strømsted, which resulted in damage to his front wing endplate. The contact dropped Lacorte down the order and ended any hopes of a strong result.
Matteo De Palo and Noah Strømsted – TRIDENT
De Palo’s weekend unravelled during Qualifying after a costly crash that dramatically compromised his starting position.
The Italian had initially set a competitive lap that placed him inside the top ten at the 2026 F3 Australian GP, but he lost control and crashed during the session, bringing out the red flag. As a result, his fastest lap time was deleted for causing the stoppage, which dropped him down the order.
De Palo was forced to start P23 on the grid. From there, it proved difficult to recover positions around the tight confines of the Albert Park Circuit, leaving him with a challenging race weekend.
Strømsted’s weekend showed promise, but ultimately ended in frustration following a late-race penalty in Sunday’s Feature Race.
The Danish driver had been running strongly inside the top five and crossed the finish line in P4, appearing to secure a valuable points haul. However, stewards later handed him a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Nicola Lacorte during the race.
The penalty had a dramatic impact on the final classification, dropping Strømsted all the way down to P23 and turning what looked like a strong result into a disappointing end to the weekend.
