Pedro Clerot came away from qualifying at the 2026 F3 Madrid Round with two strong results, securing P2 for the opening Feature Race and P3 for the second Feature Race as Rodin Motorsport showed strong pace around the new street circuit.
The Brazilian was just 0.012 seconds away from Taito Kato’s pole time in Qualifying 1, while he was on course for another strong result in Q2 before a late mistake at the final corner ended his session in the barriers.
Speaking in the FIA Formula 3 post-qualifying press conference, with Pit Debrief in attendance, Clerot reflected on a strong day for Rodin Motorsport and the narrow margins that ultimately kept him from claiming pole.
Clerot shows strong pace in Qualifying 1
Clerot immediately showed strong pace in the opening 2026 F3 Madrid Round qualifying session, moving to the top of the timesheets during the second runs before Kato ultimately snatched pole by just 0.012s.
Despite only managing one representative push lap, Clerot was pleased with his performance after feeling comfortable with the car throughout Free Practice.
“Yeah, very close. I think it was an overall good session. It was a bit messy where I was. I only managed to do one push lap, and that was the one I had to make count,” Clerot explained.
“Together with the team, we saw that today was going to be all about putting a lap on the board, and I think we managed to do quite well. I felt really comfortable from free practice, and I knew the pace was there.”
The Rodin driver admitted he was surprised to find himself at the front after the first runs, particularly after the team had not appeared as competitive during Free Practice.
“Even though we were not so high up in free practice, I knew we were going to be okay. The car came alive in qualifying, and I was actually quite surprised to see I was P1 after the first run.”
Traffic prevented Clerot from completing another push lap
Traffic then prevented Clerot from completing another push lap, leaving him watching the timing screens as Kato improved.
“I could not do my second lap because of traffic, and I could see on the TV that Kato was improving, I was thinking, please do not improve by too much. I could see it was just a small difference, but I am happy to be starting on the front row and happy for the team as well. We put a lot of work into this weekend, and it paid off.”
With the Madrid circuit bringing the drivers close to the walls throughout the lap, Clerot was also pleased with how he was able to manage the risk in Q1.
“Very nice. Very, very nice. Overall, I am very happy for the team as well. Driving here is unique. You are close to every single wall. The more you risk, the higher the reward.”
“Even though my lap was, I am not going to say on the safe side, but a very controlled lap, I was on the edge already. There was not a lot more in it, and for sure it feels really good to piece together a good lap around this place.”
Qualifying 2: Clerot’s pole challenge ends at the final corner
Clerot continued his strong form in the 2026 F3 Madrid Qualifying 2 session, fighting at the front and briefly moving into P2 behind title contender Ugo Ugochukwu.
On his final push lap, Clerot knew he had produced a strong first sector and was chasing the feeling he had been looking for throughout the session.
“Yeah, you know, I felt comfortable the whole qualifying session, and I knew I had done a really good sector one by that time. I think that was our strong point. And I was chasing that feeling the whole day, and I finally managed to do it in the last push of quali.”
Clerot was less than a tenth behind Ugochukwu and committed fully to the final lap, but lost the rear of the car at the final corner.
“I knew I was P2 at that time, less than a tenth behind Ugo, so I just committed the whole lap. I was losing a bit of grip throughout the lap. Also, the previous lap, I think I was already quite sideways in the last sector. I just lost the rear of the car.”
Improvements seen across the board in Qualifying 2
The mistake brought his qualifying session to an early end, but with the chequered flag already approaching, Clerot escaped without losing his P3 starting position.
“Fortunately, by then it was the end of the session, so we didn’t get really affected. I think we would be for sure in the fight for pole with that lap.”
“I’m just happy to be in the front again. We showed really good speed. We showed that we were up there in both qualifying sessions. A bit of a sad end, but just happy that we could deliver when it mattered.”
The second qualifying session was also considerably faster, with the field finding almost a second compared to Q1.
“For sure, for sure. We went, I think, almost a second quicker than Q1. Obviously, Q1 was a little bit more messy. At least I got less push laps in Q1. And then Q2 was a bit cleaner, also on my side on the driving.”
Looking ahead to Madrid’s first race
With qualifying now complete, Clerot heads into the first race weekend at Madrid with two strong Feature Race starting positions, but the biggest unknown remains how the new circuit will race.
Pit Debrief asked Clerot about the biggest unknown heading into the first race at Madrid, given that none of the FIA Formula 3 drivers had raced at the new circuit before, and how much risk he expected the drivers to take around the street track.
“Yeah, like Tuukka said, just be open-minded about it. For sure street track racing is always a little bit different to other tracks. We come from Monza, where we had a million overtakes during the weekend. And here, I don’t think we’re going to have as much.”
The Sprint Race will therefore provide an important opportunity for the drivers to learn how the circuit behaves in race conditions before turning their attention to the Feature Races.
“But yeah, just looking forward to learn as much as we can on the sprint tomorrow. And then obviously maximise our both feature starts where we’re starting up ahead. So just looking forward, excited. A bit sad that the season’s ending, but good to be ending on a high note.”
