Ugo Ugochukwu secured the 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) Drivers’ Championship with a composed performance in Feature Race 2 at Madrid, finishing second behind Tuukka Taponen to cap off a consistent season.
Heading into the final race of the season, Ugochukwu held second on the grid while championship rival Freddie Slater started down in eighth after failing to score points in Saturday’s Sprint Race. Despite having a strong advantage in the championship fight, the Campos Racing driver admitted he could not fully relax with the title still on the line.
“It is hard. In a way, I knew I was in a good position to get the championship today and I knew what I needed to do to win the title, but I was not fully relaxed,” Ugochukwu explained.
“You think about all the little things that can happen and that you need to stay on top of. Today was executed quite well. I knew I had a good chance on the inside to maybe go for the lead at the start, but Tuukka did a good job defending his position.
“From there, it felt like a very long race. I just had to manage the tyre and the gap to the drivers behind me. That is what we did. To win the championship is testament to the consistency and the job we have done throughout the year.”
A clean start to Feature Race 2
Ugochukwu had the chance to challenge Taponen for the lead at the start, but the Finnish driver successfully defended his position into the opening corners. With the championship the priority, Ugochukwu instead settled into second and focused on managing the race.
The approach was particularly important given how much damage the Madrid circuit had caused throughout the weekend, with the aggressive kerbs proving a constant threat to the cars.
Asked whether he had been taking a safer approach into Turn 1, Ugochukwu admitted that securing a clean start had been one of the team’s main priorities.
“For sure, a clean start was on our minds. We could not afford a stall, a jump start or anything like that,” he said.
“Getting into the lead at the start would still have been nice because controlling from the front is always a little easier and cleaner, but I knew I just had to adapt to whatever situation I was in.
“Whether that was P2 or P3, I just managed the race as best as I could. I tried to make a move later on and put on a bit of pressure, but Tuukka was quick in the right places and I could not get quite close enough.
“Qualifying was the key to this weekend and we executed that well to put ourselves in a good position today on such a tricky track.”
Pressure to get the result across the line
The pressure of potentially securing the 2026 F3 Drivers’ Championship made the race one of the most difficult of Ugochukwu’s season, despite the Campos driver having a strong enough pace and gap behind to avoid any major pressure.
“It definitely was one of the most difficult races,” Ugochukwu said. “In terms of performance, we were quick and I did not have too much pressure from behind, but at the same time you cannot afford any mistakes with such a big thing on the line.
“I made sure to keep it clean. We have seen a lot of damage to the cars from the kerbs here throughout the weekend and in testing as well, so I tried to be gentle with the car and make sure it reached the line.”
The championship was not completely secure until the chequered flag, with a late Safety Car creating one final moment of uncertainty.
Ugochukwu initially believed the race would finish behind the Safety Car after seeing that there was no work being done on the stranded car. However, his engineer soon informed him that the field would be given one final racing lap.
“Initially, I thought it was going to end under the Safety Car because I saw there was no work being done on the car. My engineer also thought it was going to be over, but then he came on the radio and said there would be one more lap,” Ugochukwu explained.
“I started working on my tyres again to be fully prepared for that lap. I held my breath for one lap, and once I crossed the line I could relax a little.”
Ugochukwu secures the 2026 FIA F3 Drivers’ Championship
Ugochukwu’s second-place finish brought his championship campaign to a close in fitting fashion, with consistency proving decisive across the season.
After 18 races, the Campos Racing driver had done enough to secure the FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship, adding another major achievement to his junior single-seater career.
The title also capped off a strong season for Campos Racing, with the Spanish outfit having already secured the Teams’ Championship before the Madrid finale.
For Ugochukwu, however, the final race was ultimately about keeping his composure, avoiding unnecessary risks and bringing the car home.
He did exactly that, crossing the line in second and finally allowing himself to celebrate becoming the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Champion.
