Ugo Ugochukwu, a rookie with Prema Racing for the 2025 FIA F3 season, reflected on his driving style during the mid-season break. He previously found success in 2023 by winning the Euro 4 Drivers’ Championship, and more recently claimed victory at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in the FIA Formula Regional World Cup.
With just four points to his name at the halfway mark of the 2025 FIA F3 season and currently sitting P23 in the standings, the American driver spoke about his “calm” driving style, something he sees as especially important during Qualifying laps.
“I’ll say my driving style is quite calm. I’m a pretty smooth driver overall, which is definitely important on a quali lap, especially in these F3 cars.”
Adaptation is key
Ugochukwu emphasized the importance of adapting to varying conditions, noting that while he considers himself “quite aggressive” during races, that approach often puts him on the front foot and allows him to capitalise on key moments.
“For me adaptation is really important as well, it’s another feature that you need, just for different conditions, and also if you’re going between different types of cars, that adaptation is key.”
“In racing, I am quite aggressive. I think it’s important, because it puts you on the front foot in the races.”
The McLaren Development driver explained that he particularly enjoys “attacking the braking on entry” and focusing on “managing things” on corner exits, an approach that reflects his balance between aggression and control. With Formula 1 sessions typically running between F3 Free Practice and Qualifying, Ugochukwu credits the added grip on the track surface for allowing him to push harder on corner entry and find extra time.
“I also think I am definitely someone who likes to attack the braking on entry, try and gain a lot of time, and the rest of the corner you try to manage things.”
“I think that’s also a good step you can do from Free Practice to Qualifying because we are after Formula 1. This means there’s more grip, so every time you need to push the entry a bit more and more just to find more time.”
Increased downforce in F3 compared to F4
When comparing his driving style from F4 to F3, Ugochukwu noted that while they are quite similar. Formula 3 demands greater trust in the car’s downforce, as significantly more speed is carried through the corners.
“In essence, I think my driving style has been the pretty similar from F4, to Regional to now. But I think in F3, you have to trust the downforce a lot more, mainly in the high speed corners, because you are just carrying so much more speed through the corners.”
Strength of DRS when defending
The Prema Racing driver highlighted the strength of the DRS effect when defending, describing it as “very strong,” and noted that out-braking rivals is crucial to gaining the advantage at the apex.
“In terms of defending, the DRS effect can be really strong. So if you side by side before braking, the main thing has to be to try to out-brake your rival into the corner to be able to be ahead of him for the apex, that’s part of the job done.”
“For overtaking, in Imola for example, Turn 2 is an overtaking spot, so you to try and be later on the brakes, to be ahead at the apex, so that way you have the right to the corner.”
When wheel to wheel racing occurs, the McLaren Development Driver stressed the importance of avoiding forcing another driver off-track, as this will earn him a 5-second penalty which can move him down a very close field.
“Obviously, you need to be careful forcing someone off the track because you don’t really want to get a penalty, and the field here is very close, so a five-second penalty will push you down a lot of places, so you try to avoid that.”
Tyre management is crucial
Tyre management is a frequent topic of discussion in Formula 3. The presence of dirty air through corners adds to the challenge, with high-speed sections, such as the middle sector at Imola, being particularly tough on the tyres and often causing the most wear.
“Also, dirty air doesn’t help the tyres as well. So, again for example in Imola, pushing hard through the middle sector, through all the high speed corners is definitely where you are going to damage the tyres the most.”
“But it depends on what your approach is at that moment. If you are planning to overtake on the main straight, you kind of need to use a bit more of the tyre to get yourself closer at the last corner.”
“If you are in a phase of tyre management, you can probably stay a little further back, to keep the DRS but without using your tyres too much.”
Final overview of Ugochukwu’s driving style in rookie F3 season
Upon reflection, Ugochukwu credits his karting days and his experience in single seaters as to what has made up his driving style. He notes that he learnt the basics in karting, and the fine tuned details were then learnt in single seaters.
“Looking back, I think my driving style these days is made up of karting and single seaters. In karting, you learn the basics, just the normal stuff that you need in car racing, the racing lines, the braking points, and just how to approach a corner in general.”
“But then in single seaters, everything is a bit more in detail, and I think the little things can make a bigger impact here.”
“You have a bit more tools to manage, brake bias, tyre management, the tyre warmup, so definitely, these are things that are most important in single seaters.”
