Ugo Ugochukwu believes consistency will be key in the fight for the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship after recovering from sixth on the grid to finish second in the 2026 F3 Budapest Round Feature Race.
The Campos Racing driver produced one of the standout drives of the race, making several decisive overtakes in the opening laps before chasing race winner Freddie Slater to the chequered flag. Although he surrendered the championship lead to the Briton, Ugochukwu left Budapest just eight points adrift heading into the summer break.
Speaking in the post-race FIA Formula 3 press conference, attended by Pit Debrief, Ugochukwu reflected on his recovery drive and the importance of bouncing back after a difficult weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
“Yeah, it was a good race for us. Starting P6 to P2 is still good points. Yeah, start was fairly clean. I managed to do a good move in P2, in T2, which made my race. From there, it was pretty difficult to make the move for the lead.
“I think we had decent pace, but it’s really difficult to overtake on this track when everyone settles in. We saw that yesterday as well. I was the only one doing some action. I think overall we’re pretty happy with this. We know where we have to improve in that race to maybe be able to attack. But still, I think we’ve come away from this weekend having some nice points.”
Consistency remains key in his 2026 F3 campaign
With just two rounds remaining, Ugochukwu believes consistency will ultimately decide the championship, acknowledging that Slater has consistently put himself in strong positions throughout the season.
Despite losing the championship lead in the F3 Budapest Feature Race, Ugochukwu was encouraged to return to the front after a difficult Spa weekend and is determined to keep fighting for victories in the closing stages of the campaign.
“Yeah, I think consistency is going to be important. You know, Fred’s been doing that quite well, always putting himself in a good position. So yeah, a few unlucky runs.”
“I have to say Spa we have a kind of compromised the weekend quite a bit. Some issues on Sunday as well there. So this weekend has been good to get back onto, the good scoring positions. But you know, of course, we always want more. So we’re going be pushing for more wins in the last few rounds.“
Track position proving vital around the Hungaroring
Asked by Pit Debrief about the difficulty of following another car around the Hungaroring, his decisive overtakes early in the race, the impact of the multiple Safety Car interruptions and the changing track conditions throughout the weekend, Ugochukwu explained why making progress in the opening laps was so important.
“Yeah, a little bit like the others said, it’s not so easy. You need to kind of save your tyres more than the guy ahead to kind of have a… You know, we’re all so similar on pace, you know, we saw that in Quali, you know, 1 tenth off in P6, so you really need to be a step quicker than the guy ahead to overtake, which is not the easiest.
“Which is why I knew I needed to do some bold moves towards the start of the race to kind of get me some track position, and then, you know, from there, the race would be much easier to manage.
Capitalising in the early stages of the Feature Race
Ugochukwu then explained one of the race’s key overtakes, describing how he capitalised on pressure applied to Brando Badoer before spotting an opportunity to pass Mattia Colnaghi.
“Yeah, I mean, I saw that, I found my pace was pretty decent at that point in the race, so, you know, I tried to put Brando under a little bit of pressure into T1 just to kind of make something happen, let’s say, and then, yeah, managed to get a little bit of a, a little bit of a switchback.
“You know, the move there on the outside is pretty easy as, Brando has some dirty air, but then mid-corner I realised that Colnaghi was a bit slow, so I just put the power down and let the car go, and, yeah, I had enough speed into T3 to make the move.
Adapting to every challenge
The Hungarian Feature Race was interrupted by multiple Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods, forcing drivers to constantly adapt their approach to tyre management.
While the interruptions helped preserve tyre life, they also created fresh challenges each time racing resumed.
“Yeah, just had to adapt to every situation we had. You know, I think definitely, you know, all those safety cars and VSC maybe made our life a little bit easier towards the end of the race, had a little bit more rubber left.
“But at the same time, you know, it’s not easy when you have deg, you know, the tyres start to pick up a lot of marbles and also vibrations when we get going again. So, yeah, all factors that we had to take into account and just try to, yeah, maximise it as best as we could.
The changing track surface across the weekend
Adding another layer to the challenge was the evolving track surface. Following resurfacing work after Friday’s running, drivers had to contend with changing grip levels and an increasingly narrow racing line as the weekend progressed.
For Ugochukwu, it was another variable during the Budapest F3 Feature Race that demanded constant adaptation.
“Yeah, I think the track was a little bit not dirty, but like the asphalt, but like the other side was changing a bit throughout the weekend. So, yeah, that’s another thing of just kind of adapting it, adapting to the lines.
“Definitely, you know, as we race more, the racing line becomes smaller, let’s say, and the marbles get closer and closer, which made it a little bit difficult to kind of do something a little bit different to the guy ahead of you to avoid dirty air. yeah, I mean, it wasn’t too bad at the end, you know, I think everyone’s in the same boat, so.
