Théophile Naël believes both he and Campos Racing have the tools to return to the front at Silverstone, with the Frenchman confident the high-speed nature of the circuit plays to their strengths as the 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) Championship reaches its halfway point.
Speaking during Thursday’s F3 Virtual Media Roundtable ahead of the 2026 Silverstone weekend, with Pit Debrief Naël discussed his championship fight with teammate Ugo Ugochukwu, reflected on the lessons from Spielberg, and explained why he expects the British circuit to suit both his driving style and the team’s package.
After a frustrating weekend in Spielberg ended his run of three consecutive pole positions, Naël arrives in Britain 26 points behind Championship leader and Campos teammate Ugo Ugochukwu. However, with four rounds still remaining after Silverstone, the second-year driver insists the title fight is far from over.
“There is plenty of things to improve on my side and on the team as well, all together,” Naël said. “But at the moment, yeah, I’m still in the championship, not that far to Ugo. We are in the fifth round of the championship, so still a very long way to the end of the season.
“But yeah, at the moment, the pace was looking good, except in Red Bull Ring where we had some issue and not the place that we wanted to be in qualifying. I hope we can be at the top this weekend and come back stronger like we end up in Barcelona.”
Silverstone’s high speed corners
When asked by Pit Debrief whether confidence through Silverstone’s famous high-speed corners is something that can be learned or comes naturally, Naël explained that it has always been one of his greatest strengths.
“Well, for me, yeah, this track is a really high-speed corners track and that’s the tendency of this track,” he said. “I mean, I think that’s very positive for me. I always felt very confident in the high-speed corners, and I think it’s also the positive side of the team, of the Campos car.”
“So hopefully we can be, we can be competitive this weekend. Yeah. Last year, Nikola [Tsolov] was on pole as well with the Campos, so we had good data and a good baseline to start with.”
Looking to improve on last years Silverstone podium
Naël enjoyed one of his standout weekends at Silverstone in 2025, finishing second in the Feature Race, and while improving on that result is the objective, he stressed that consistent points across both races remain the biggest priority.
“Yeah, for me, for sure, the objective this weekend is to improve the result from last year, the P2 in Feature Race,” he said. “But yeah, like I said, main priority is to score points this weekend in Sprint race and in Feature.
“So yeah, that would be the main priority. But yeah, we need to do things step by step. First FP, build the confidence, then trying to put everything together in quality and hopefully score some big points Saturday and Sunday.”
Naël was also asked by Pit Debrief what people often underestimate about competing in Formula 3 across a race weekend, and what he himself learned during his rookie campaign last year.
“Second season in F3, I think is something very important,” he said. “Last year, I learned a lot. So I think I came back even stronger this season.
“Maybe not in terms of driving, but in terms of how to expect the races, what to do and what to not do to avoid mistakes and to put everything together at the end of the weekend. But yeah, that’s pretty much.”
Qualifying speed remains despite Spielberg setback
Before the Austrian round, Naël had firmly established himself as Formula 3’s qualifying benchmark with three successive pole positions. Although that streak came to an end at the Red Bull Ring, he believes the underlying pace remains just as strong.
“The team gave me a really good car in qualifying since the beginning of the season. I have to say that in the Red Bull Ring, the car was really good as well. I just didn’t extract everything, were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“But yeah, I have no doubt in terms of speed and the pace that we had since the beginning of the season in qualifying. So hopefully we can be at the top this weekend again.
“And if not at the top, like I said, we can be at the front to score points.That would be very good.”
Expecting cooler conditions to suit Campos’ package
Austria presented one of the hottest weekends of the Formula 3 season so far, with tyre degradation becoming a major talking point throughout the paddock. Looking ahead to the 2026 F3 Silverstone Round, Naël expects cooler, windier conditions and believes they should better suit Campos Racing.
“Well, yeah, for sure. Last weekend was super hot, very tough for us, for the tyres as well, like you said. But like Nicola [Lacorte] said as well, it’s not the same compound. It will be a different degradation on the tyres as well.
“From my experience with last year and the experience of the team as well, we know what to expect, which axle front or rear will drop in first. I mean, it will be colder this weekend, will be windy as well. So yeah, different conditions, but I expect the Campos car to be even more competitive in that condition than the hot condition.”
