Ugo Ugochukwu demonstrated his sheer pace at Spa-Francorchamps in Round 8 of the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship. After starting in P6 on the grid, Ugochukwu made his way to P2, taking his first podium in the F3 Belgian GP Sprint Race. The race was filled with penalties, with drivers running wide at several corners and pushing track limits.
First official podium of the season
Ugochukwu had been present on the podium a few rounds ago in Austria, but with a post-race penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, it saw the American driver handed a 10 second penalty, also taking his podium with it.
This time around, he has officially kept his podium, making it his first F3 podium. While speaking to the media, including Pit Debrief post Sprint Race, about how he felt being on the podium, Ugochukwu stated that he was “really happy” with his result in the Sprint race, despite starting from P6 on the grid.
“Yeah, really happy of course. I was a little disappointed with Quali yesterday, P6, I thought there was a bit more in it, but really happy we were able to show it today. Pace was really good, I was able to pick them off one by one and make my way to P2, so really happy.”
“I think the last few weekends we’ve been in a good way in terms of race pace and quali pace, so it’s really good to finally get the podium and pick up more good points.”
Tyre management was key
The Sprint Race got off to a chaotic start, with several drivers running wide and cars jostling for position across the track. Despite the frantic opening laps, the race remained clean, with no safety car interruptions. As the laps wore on, tyre degradation became a major challenge for many, and Ugochukwu later noted that tyre management was key to securing his P2 finish in the later stages of the race.
“It was really tricky towards the end with tyres, there was a lot of deg. I’m sure everyone had a lot of graining, so it was just about managing that. I think ultimately I was just trying to manage my pace behind to Charlie in P3 and I was able to keep quite consistent pace to the end, so I think it was good.
“With no safety cars, I think that’s what made it really tricky, trying to manage the tyres through sector 2 was really tricky and pushing a lot at the beginning probably didn’t help. I was out to overtake a lot of people, but I thought track position would have been more important and just think about the tyres a bit later on.”
Ugochukwu’s recent strong form on track
Ugochukwu’s recent form has been strong. He came away with P4 in the Feature Race in Austria, as well as P5 in the Sprint Race at Silverstone. Prior to Austria, he only had 4 Championship points, and now, he currently has 31.
When asked if a race win could be on the cards in the near future, he mentioned that being “consistent at the front” is firstly really important as well as making sure he is in a better position in Qualifying to be able to attack the front.
“Yeah definitely, I think being consistently at the front is firstly really important, it’s not always easy to get it right in this championship, so yeah I’m sure we’ll be on the pace in the last few rounds as well and hopefully we can just get ourselves in a little bit better quali position to really attack in the future race.”
Livery changes
Since Austria, Ugochukwu’s Prema Racing car has featured a revised livery, with paint stripped off to reduce weight. When asked if the lighter livery contributed to his improved pace, Ugochukwu credited both the weight-saving measures and the team’s strong performance in making the car more competitive.
“I think it was probably you know a little bit of both. The team has been doing a good job as a whole, we’ve been much more competitive. I think we definitely found something just to put us more in the fight let’s say, especially in the races where we’re struggling more at the beginning of the year, so I think it’s really good that we got on top of that. I think it’s just time to make back some of the points that we lost earlier in the championship.”
Running in the wet
The F3 grid has had limited opportunities to run in wet conditions this season, but with rain forecast for tomorrow, drivers may face an added challenge on Spa’s high-speed layout. When asked about wet-weather performance, Ugochukwu admitted it’s difficult to predict who will be quick but said he’s looking forward to racing in both wet and dry conditions. After showing strong pace in the dry today, he’s hopeful that form will carry over if the rain arrives.
“We haven’t had much running in the wet this year so I think it’s going to be a little bit kind of unexpected. It’s going to be tricky to know who’s going to be quick but I look forward to both conditions, considering today pace was really good so I think having the same tomorrow would would be mega.
“We’ll see what tomorrow brings and even if it’s on the wet try to try to attack as much as you can.”
“Yeah of course starting P6 with the spray makes it a little bit more difficult but you know there are overtaking opportunities on this track nevertheless.”
Previous circuit experience
Ugochukwu is no rookie when it comes to Spa, having raced on the circuit two previous times in F4 and FRECA (Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine). With the limited running time yesterday in the postponed Free Practice session, Ugochukwu highlighted that experience helps when there is limited time to practice.
“Of course experience helps a lot on the track. We don’t get many laps in FP(Free Practice) so any experience you have from previous years is really good. I think I’ve been here twice, F4 and FRECA.
“I won an F4 and I believe I started P8 on the grid so again another big comeback at Spa, but yeah of course it’s important to really start on the front foot because when you’re in a good position in FP you just have to fine-tune things for Quali and it’s much easier than having to you know make big steps.”
Fighting from the front
Since Austria, Ugo Ugochukwu has consistently delivered points for Prema Racing. As one of the rookies on the F3 grid, he currently sits P16 in the Drivers’ Championship. With only three rounds remaining in the FIA F3 season, consistency at the front will be crucial for Ugochukwu to continue climbing the standings. He also brings experience at the next two circuits, making strong Qualifying performances vital to secure points-paying finishes each weekend.
“It’s really important of course to be consistently fighting at the front. Like I said it’s not the easiest on the championship to nail quali every time. That’s the main thing I think being in the top 12 in quali really just sets you up really well for the weekend.
“Yeah on my side nothing crazy just I feel quite in a good place at the moment. I know the circuits very well the next two on the calendar as well so I think it’s just about fine-tuning and trying to improve a little bit by race.”
Zero safety cars in the F3 Belgian GP Sprint Race
The Sprint Race marked the first time in several rounds that the F3 grid went without a single safety car, giving drivers a rare opportunity for uninterrupted running. For many, it was the first clean race experience in quite some time. While Ugochukwu acknowledged it as a valuable learning opportunity, he noted that the full-length Feature Race would still present a tough challenge, particularly in managing tyre degradation over the full distance.
“Yeah I would say so. I’ll say having no safety cars is pretty unusual to be honest. In our races though to get a full race would really put to the test tyre management. Also got a bit of a feeling of the car in dirty air, clean air. We know what we had and we can see what we can fine-tune for tomorrow if it is dry.”
