Hiyu Yamakoshi claimed his maiden F3 victory in the Sprint Race at the 2026 Monaco GP round after staying composed despite constant interruptions.
Starting from reverse grid pole position, Yamakoshi led the field away at lights out before the race was red-flagged due to a multi-car collision at the hairpin. After a long break, the Japanese driver resumed the Sprint Race under a rolling start, instantly taking control of the race before another brief safety car appeared due to another hairpin incident.
Yamakoshi stormed away at the restart, extending his lead to 0.9s while managing a virtual safety car. Despite the interruptions, the Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) driver remained composed and crossed the chequered flag first to claim his maiden F3 victory.
Post race, Yamakoshi was then disqualified after it was found that the front push rod LH – CPL was mounted on the right-hand side of the car, and front push rod RH – CPL was mounted on the left-hand side of the car. Gerrard Xie was promoted to P1, with Bruno del Pino in P2 and Pedro Clerot in P3.
Reflecting on crossing the line first during the FIA F3 Monaco GP post-Sprint Race Press Conference, attended by Pit Debrief, Yamakoshi said: “Yeah, I mean, you know, Monaco is really special. Even in the reverse grid, is still winning is winning for me. And now I’m a Monaco race winner, which is one of the dreams coming true, which I’m so happy about. I’m so proud of this result.“
Managing the race restarts
Speaking about his race, the 19-year-old explained that the safety car and red-flag interruptions helped him reset after a challenging start, although he briefly struggled to refocus at the restart.
“I was struggling a bit in the start and the first lap before the safety car,” he said. So, I think that was safety car and the red flag had quite a big impact for me. Yeah, after that, tyre feeling good, car feeling good because I didn’t worry that much. I was just worried a bit after the red flag. The focus was less than the first lap of the race. So, at that time I made quite a few mistakes. But I ended up quite nicely.”
Further analyzing the red flag stoppage and how he refocused after, Yamakoshi shared: “Yeah, especially, I don’t want to be late into the car. I want to grab my helmet, but I don’t know actually when we go again, so that was quite a bit frustrating for me, but I think I managed quite well.“
VAR’s strong 2026 F3 season start
Van Amersfoort Racing has had a promising start to the 2026 F3 season, currently leading the Teams’ Standings with 43 points. Prior to his disqualification, Yamakoshi’s win would have been the Dutch team’s second consecutive Sprint Race victory after teammate Bruno Del Pino claimed P1 in the 2026 F3 Melbourne Sprint. Now, Del Pino joined Yamakoshi on the podium in P3 (now promoted to P2).
“I mean, it was definitely a win for me,” he began, speaking about how happy he is with the team. “It’s really, really good. Especially, this is a Q2 win. Two sprint wins in a row for the team. I ended up being part of a piece of the team. Which is so good for me. Also Bruno got P3, a double podium. Two times in a row on the Sprint Race. Which I think is very good for the team as well. Hopefully, we can bring this result in the Feature Race. So, honestly, we should be really happy with that for the moment.”
Asked about how much confidence VAR’s recent performance gives him for the rest of the season, Yamakoshi said:
“Honestly, yeah, Bruno had a good result in Australia, but I didn’t. Actually, I lost a bit of confidence in the first round. But I knew that when my team had a pace, I didn’t, like In the middle of the day, I’m like, we made it in Monaco again with the team. Which is very good for me as well. It’s just a bit of a shame to see a Sprint Race.
“We have a pace to make a nice result in the Feature Race. Even in the Sprint Race, we get podium, make a nice feeling for the team, and make more, I’ll say, mental side is a very positive side. So I think we can keep forward for the next two months, basically.”
Adapting to the Circuit de Monaco
As the Circuit de Monaco is known for its narrow layout and limited overtaking opportunities, Yamakoshi’s reverse grid pole proved key to his initial victory. Despite running at the front, the Japanese driver also extended his advantage, ultimately crossing the line 3.312s ahead of Gerrard Xie.
Yamakoshi explained that managing the race from the front came down to controlling the gap and adapting to the conditions, as he said:
“Honestly, I know Monaco is really difficult to overtake. I know the tyre pressure was a bit higher than last year, most of them, but the last two years, I just, I don’t know. We didn’t make any race run, honestly, because of Monaco, the qualifying and everything. So we didn’t really know what’s going on. So in relation to how the degredation goes, I just managed as much as I can for the last two laps. Ended up like a shorter, shorter race.”
He continued: “[We] also had a few safety, and we had a lot of safety cars, so it’s a bit easier than what I expected, when I think about the management ways. But yeah, basically I saw the gap, I tried to find where I lose the time and where I can actually gain the time. Yeah, that’s basically what I did. And don’t hit the wall. Every lap, that’s the main point, especially straight track.”
Balancing risk vs. reward
When asked by Pit Debrief about how his mindset will change heading into Sunday’s Feature Race, where he will start further down the grid, within the chaos, Yamakoshi noted:
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know what’s going on about the penalties and everything for the tomorrow starting grid. But for the moment, I’m going to start from P11. Yeah, I saw, I watched some of the Sprint Race and it’s already quite a big mess. So I think the most important point is to survive and cross the finish line in the last lap of the race. So I think if we survive, if I can survive the race, I think I can make the position. Of course, overtake opportunities, but still, it’s not impossible. So try to give the chance, if it’s possible, and survive the race and finish the race. I think that’s the point for tomorrow.”
With his emphasis on survival, he further explained that for him, Monaco has become a mix of surviving and racing.
“I mean, yes and no,” he began. “For me, I think all the drivers are now taking a bit too much risk compared to the past few years. Because everyone now knows Monaco is most likely impossible. Most likely, not impossible, but most likely impossible to overtake. So only the chance they have is partial for the right after the safety car restart. I think they are trying to use all the chance as much as possible. But sometimes the driver, I mean, drivers are not talking to each other when we are racing. So that’s also causing some problem in the race. Of course, surviving is important. But also, the most important thing for us is understanding each other more.”
Yamakoshi on tyre strategy at the Monaco GP
Speaking about how F3 Monaco GP Sprint Race tyre management will affect his strategy in the Feature Race, Yamakoshi concluded:
“Yeah. And today, again, shorter race than what we expected. Also, tomorrow is, like, the Feature Race, the longer race. So, whether we could figure out if the tyres are not going to struggle. I think some people didn’t make a full race run today. Yes, I better not say that.
“Maybe we have the best advantage compared to other people because we are running P1, P3. We know the clean air, how the car moves in the clean air. We know how the car is working in the dirty air.”
He added: “So, I think we can make a nice car for tomorrow and then we know how the degradation works today. So, yeah, of course, the top five team, the team with the driver, the top five, they’re going to be quite tough. They’re going to be quite fast, but I don’t think we are that much slower. So, I think we have a chance to at least follow them.”
