Ernesto Rivera overcame front-tyre graining and opening-lap chaos to secure another strong result for Campos Racing in the 2026 Budapest F3 Sprint Race.
The Red Bull junior made a competitive start before avoiding an incident at Turn 2. However, persistent understeer restricted his pace and prevented him from mounting a sustained attack on Kanato Le.
Nevertheless, Rivera strengthened his championship position and continued his recent Sprint Race progress. As he discussed during the post-Sprint Race press conference attended by Pit Debrief, He now plans to use the lessons from Saturday as Campos Racing prepares for a longer and more demanding Feature Race.
Rivera navigates opening-lap chaos in 2026 Budapest F3 Sprint Race
Rivera made a strong initial launch. However, his outside line into Turn 1 left him vulnerable, and he lost a position during the opening exchanges.
Moments later, several drivers collided at Turn 2. Rivera avoided the incident and remained near the front, although he quickly began struggling with the car’s front-end balance.
“Yeah, start was quite good, but I was on the outside on turn one, so it was difficult to stay there. I think I lost one position, but then managed to avoid the crash into T2, which was really good. A very tricky race for me. I was struggling a lot with the front tyres and yeah, trying to manage it as best as possible, but towards the end I was really struggling. Had one chance to pass Kanato, but he defended quite good. So yeah, we need to have a look and be better tomorrow.”
Despite the difficulties, Rivera remained within reach of Le. He found one opportunity to attack, but the ART Grand Prix driver defended successfully.
Consequently, Rivera prioritised bringing the car home and securing valuable championship points rather than forcing a move as his tyres continued to deteriorate.
Understeer compounds Rivera’s tyre problems
Rivera traced his tyre-management difficulties to understeer that affected the car from the beginning of the race.
Each lap placed more stress on the front tyres. Furthermore, the graining progressively reduced his available grip and made recovery increasingly difficult.
“Yeah, the balance was understeering since the beginning. And when you have a little bit of understeer, each lap gets a bit worse. And when you grain the tyre, it’s so difficult to get it back. So yeah, let’s see what we can do for tomorrow, but for sure we can improve a lot.”
Rivera therefore needed to manage both his pace and the gap to the car ahead. Pushing continuously in dirty air would have accelerated the degradation, while dropping back created opportunities for his rivals.
Pit Debrief asked Rivera how difficult he found following another car around the Hungaroring and how much importance drivers must place on gaining track position early.
“Yeah, it’s super, super difficult to follow here, especially Sector 2 on the hard tyre. It’s super easy to grain the front tyre. That’s why I was trying to leave a gap and pushing some of the laps to try to get close to Kanato. But, as soon as I would get close to him, I would just have more understeer, damage more the tyre. So yeah, Théophile is very good, go to the lead and he would manage his tyres better. But yeah, tomorrow will be difficult as I’m starting in P8 We’ll see what we can do.”
Rivera attempted to alternate between protecting the tyres and closing the gap. However, every attack brought him back into turbulent air and increased his understeer.
Meanwhile, Campos Racing teammate Théophile Naël reached the front early, which allowed him to manage his tyres without following another car closely.
Strong result in 2026 Budapest F3 Sprint Race boosts Rivera’s championship position
Although Rivera wanted more from the race, he welcomed another significant points haul. The Campos Racing driver believed the result moved him into fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship despite missing the opening round in Melbourne.
“Very good points for the championship. I think right now I would be fourth, if I’m correct. Missing a race in Melbourne and being fourth in the championship is very good for me.
I think we are in a strong position for tomorrow. I know what we can improve, so I think it will be good.”
Rivera’s Budapest performance also extended his recent improvement across Sprint Races. He scored points in both races at the previous round and now hopes to repeat that achievement before the championship enters its closing stages.
“For me, I also I think I’ve made a step on the race pace. Especially on Saturdays. Last weekend was the first weekend which I scored in both races. And hopefully we can repeat this this weekend. So yeah, for me I’ve been making steps all rounds. In Sprint Races especially.”
Therefore, Rivera views his progress through the wider context of his rookie campaign. While he continues developing his one-lap and Feature Race performance, his Saturday results now provide a more consistent source of points.
Campos Racing environment supports driver progress
Rivera also credited Campos Racing’s internal environment for helping him develop. All three drivers have competed near the front throughout the season. Moreover, Rivera believes working alongside Naël and championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu has accelerated his learning.
“Yeah, as Théo said, we have a very good environment in Campos. The team is working very hard. We are all pushing a lot. I’ve learned a lot from Théo and from Ugo. They are very fast drivers. And as he said, we are all in the top five in the championship. So yeah, we scored good points today.
“I think all of the three Campos drivers are the only drivers on the grid that have won two races each. So you can see that we are a very strong line-up and team.”
Rather than allowing the competition between its drivers to disrupt the programme, Campos Racing has used their combined strength to increase its overall performance.
Furthermore, each driver brings useful information to the team. Their feedback gives Campos more opportunities to understand tyre behaviour, refine the car and prepare for the changing demands of each circuit.
As a result, Rivera enters the final part of the campaign within a line-up that continues to challenge strongly in both championship battles.
Longer Feature Race increases tyre-management challenge
Rivera expects Sunday’s 2026 Budapest F3 Feature Race to test the tyres even more severely than the Sprint Race. The race will run for five additional laps, while the Sprint Race included an early Safety Car period that reduced the time spent at racing speed. Therefore, Campos Racing must improve both the car’s balance and Rivera’s management approach.
“Yeah, I think tomorrow it will be a very tough future race. As of today, we had one little Safety Car at the beginning and the race is shorter. Tomorrow, for sure, the colder track day will help.But still, it will be a very tough race. Five more laps. We need to see how we can improve from my side and the car side as well.”
The earlier start should produce cooler track conditions, which could reduce overheating. Nevertheless, the Hungaroring’s short lap and technical second sector will continue placing heavy demands on the front tyres.
Rivera will start P8 and must balance aggression with preservation. Track position remains crucial because following closely can accelerate degradation, yet a cautious opening phase could allow the leading group to escape.
Consequently, Rivera and Campos Racing will review Saturday’s data before adjusting their approach. After securing another strong result despite his tyre difficulties, Rivera believes better management can give him another opportunity to score heavily in Sunday’s Feature Race.
