Ugo Ugochukwu delivered another standout performance in the FIA F3 Sprint Race at the 2025 Hungarian GP, converting a P6 grid slot into a commanding P2 finish. The result marked his second consecutive Sprint Race podium and further underlined both the American’s growing confidence and Prema Racing’s ongoing resurgence.
Although Ugochukwu looked set to challenge for victory during the final laps, a late Safety Car intervention denied him a proper opportunity to pass race leader Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak. Nevertheless, the performance built on his impressive form in recent rounds and kept his hopes of finishing inside the Championship’s top ten alive.
Aggressive start sets up podium push
Qualifying on Friday saw Ugochukwu post a 1:32.738, placing him seventh on the timing sheets—just 0.228s adrift of pole-sitter Rafael Câmara. Thanks to the reverse-grid rule for the Sprint Race, this placed him sixth on the grid for Saturday’s event.
At lights out, Ugochukwu made a sharp getaway and quickly found himself in the thick of the action. He gained places early, showcasing both his racecraft and awareness around the notoriously tight and twisty Hungarian circuit. A first Safety Car period, brought on by a Lap 2 incident, neutralised the field, but Ugochukwu remained poised in the top four.
Following the restart, he made a decisive move on Charlie Wurz to take third before setting his sights on the leading pair. With clear air and strong pace, the American steadily closed the gap to Inthraphuvasak and looked ready to launch an attack for the win—until the second Safety Car changed everything.
Late Safety Car denies shot at victory
A collision between Théophile Naël and Noel León on Lap 15 triggered the second Safety Car of the 2025 F3 Hungarian GP Sprint Race. By that point, Ugochukwu was tucked up behind Inthraphuvasak’s rear wing, having saved enough tyre life to pose a serious threat in the closing laps.
But with only one racing lap left and DRS disabled, overtaking became near-impossible, especially around a circuit known for limited opportunities to pass.
“Yeah, it was definitely a little bit frustrating. To be honest, it was pretty difficult to pass in the dirty air. Tasanapol were doing a good job through the middle sector. So yeah, it was tricky to get close, but obviously the safety car made things more difficult. Only one lap at the end with no DRS is almost impossible to overtake around here. But nevertheless, it’s still a really good race.”
Although visibly disappointed at being denied a shot at the win, Ugochukwu remained positive about the overall performance and the valuable points gained.
Mixed emotions after Qualifying
While Ugochukwu managed to extract the most from his Sprint outing, he admitted to being underwhelmed with his Qualifying result on Friday. Traffic and timing proved costly, and he believed there was untapped potential in his final run.
“Yesterday, I was a little bit disappointed with the Qualifying position because I felt there was definitely more in it. I got a bit of traffic on the last run, but really happy to show today the pace we had. Yeah, really good points.”
He also highlighted the importance of bouncing back immediately, particularly at a circuit like the Hungaroring where overtaking is limited and Qualifying positions tend to define race results.
“And yeah, looking forward to tomorrow as well, because on a track where it’s usually tricky to overtake. I felt I had a good enough race pace to make some good moves, and that’s really positive.”
Strong tyre management surprises Ugochukwu
Heading into the 2025 F3 Hungarian GP Sprint Race, many drivers, including Ugochukwu, expressed concern over the high degradation expected around the Hungaroring. Known for its abrasive surface and high temperatures, Budapest can be unforgiving on tyres—especially in a tightly contested midfield battle.
Despite those concerns, Ugochukwu managed to maintain strong tyre performance throughout the race, even while closely following Inthraphuvasak in the dirty air during the final laps.
“Yeah, it was really good. I thought in the middle of the race, when I got into P3, I might struggle with tyres here. But no, I managed to keep the tyres quite well until the end. And yeah, it was really good. I was able to make up some positions and then just maintain at the end. Obviously, I struggled a little bit following behind Tasanapol. My front left was quite a bit grained. So we’ll see if we can improve on that a little bit tomorrow, and hopefully it will make overtaking even easier for us.”
Preparing for a potentially wet Feature Race
With weather forecasts predicting early rain showers on Sunday, conditions could prove unpredictable for the Feature Race. While dry conditions would allow Ugochukwu to carry forward his current momentum, he expressed little concern over the potential of a wet F3 race.
“I mean, dry is definitely the safest option for us, as the pace was really good today. So I’ll say that would be the preferred one. But we’ll see. I’m looking forward to whatever the weather brings. Even in wet conditions, I’m sure the pace will be good. Yeah, as long as we get a proper Feature Race in.”
Tyre wear expected to play a greater role on Sunday
Although Ugochukwu coped well with degradation in the Sprint, the longer distance of the Feature Race will demand even more from the tyres. The American driver recognises this and believes it could play to his advantage—if managed correctly.
“Yeah, definitely. A couple more laps in the Feature. So it’ll be even trickier to keep the tyres until the end. I think for us, starting in P7. Big deg just plays into our hands even more. You know, if we can be on top of the tyres, we can eventually, towards the end of the race, try to make some position and make some moves. So I think it’s a good thing for us. It might spice up the race a little bit and cause a bit more chaos.”
Prema will need to strike the right balance between performance and tyre conservation to ensure another points-scoring result.
The final rounds of the 2025 F3 Championship
Hungary marks the penultimate round of the 2025 F3 calendar, with only one round and three races remaining. Ugochukwu currently sits 16th in the Championship Standings with 41 points—88 behind leader Rafael Câmara, but just eight points adrift of 10th-placed Roman Bilinski.
With a top-10 finish still within reach, Ugochukwu shared that he is “taking it race by race” and focusing on maximising his points haul at each opportunity. He also reflected on the challenging start to the season for Prema and acknowledged the steady improvements both he and the team have made as the year progressed.
“For myself, a little bit like Tasanapol said, start of the year was a bit tricky. So put us in an ideal position in the standings, of course. But no, to be honest, I’m just thinking of taking it race by race. Try to do the best possible job I can do in each race. Score as many points as we can. Same for Monza. I’ll just go there with the intent to try to win the race. And at the end, we’ll see where we end up.“
The effect on the race from the Safety Cars
Across the 19 laps of the 2025 F3 Hungarian GP Sprint Race, two Safety Cars were deployed—one following a Lap 2 incident and another on Lap 15 after a collision between Théophile Naël and Noel León. Speaking to Pit Debrief, Ugochukwu explained that the first Safety Car restart was manageable and even allowed him to overtake Charlie Wurz for P3. However, he struggled more during the second restart, particularly as it led into a one-lap sprint to the finish.
“Yeah, definitely. I think the first one was at the start of the race. I wasn’t too worried about it, let’s say. There’s still a lot of time to come through the field. And yeah, I managed to get a really good exit from the last corner and overtake Charlie.“
“Obviously, the last one was more tricky. I struggled a lot to follow in the last corner, had a lot of understeer, so I couldn’t get on power as early as the beginning of the race and obviously wasn’t close enough for P1. But yeah, like Charlie said, the restart’s quite common. I think the main thing is making sure your tyre is in the window and trying to attack at the next possible opportunity.”
Reflecting on Prema’s progress over the season
Ugochukwu’s P2 finish in the F3 Hungarian GP Sprint Race marks his second consecutive Sprint podium, highlighting the steady progress made by both the American driver and Prema Racing since the start of the season. Reflecting on the team’s development, Ugochukwu expressed satisfaction with their improved pace. The achievement is all the more impressive considering he started outside the top five in both podium finishes.
“Of course. I’ll say from rubbering was the big turnaround. Pace was immediately much better, especially in the races. And yeah, I mean, we can fight a lot more and score a lot more points, of course. Yeah, really good to get two podiums in a row. Shows that the pace is really good both times, starting outside the top five. Yeah, tricky races hard to move forward. But yeah, hopefully aiming for the win now.“
Co-Authors: Shermaine Wong, Karishma Persad
