Roundup of the sixth round of the 2026 F3 season at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Ugo Ugochukwu arrived at Spa with a 18-point title lead over Freddie Slater but a competitive weekend saw the title fight take its biggest twist yet, which left the championship on a knife edge going into the final three rounds of the season.
Practice
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Hiyu Yamakoshi, Enzo Deligny and Bruno Del Pino were the only three drivers to venture out for an installation lap, before they returned to the pitlane where everyone else had remained.
Trident’s Noah Stromsted eventually led a queue of cars out onto the circuit but it was Hitech’s Fionn McLaughlin who laid the initial unrepresentative benchmark time of 2m 24.218 in the 17th minute, only for Campos’ Theophile Nael to set a more representative 2m 08.355 just four minutes later.
MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen eventually emerged quickest in the opening runs with 2m 06.622 ahead of Slater by 0.039s.
Slater however lowered the benchmark to 2m 06.311 in the 27th minute which proved unbeatable for the remainder of the session, as Nael fell 0.151s shy as his nearest challenger.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Freddie Slater | Trident | 2m 06.311 |
| 2 | Theophile Nael | Campos | + 0.151 |
| 3 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | + 0.240 |
| 4 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | + 0.242 |
| 5 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | + 0.249 |
| 6 | Louis Sharp | PREMA | + 0.266 |
| 7 | Taito Kato | ART GP | + 0.274 |
| 8 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | + 0.295 |
| 9 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | + 0.312 |
| 10 | Christian Ho | Rodin | + 0.316 |
| 11 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | + 0.422 |
| 12 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | + 0.462 |
| 13 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | + 0.509 |
| 14 | Matteo de Palo | Trident | + 0.580 |
| 15 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | + 0.584 |
| 16 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | + 0.639 |
| 17 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | + 0.684 |
| 18 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | + 0.694 |
| 19 | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | + 0.797 |
| 20 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | + 0.803 |
| 21 | Kanato Le | ART GP | + 0.919 |
| 22 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | + 1.075 |
| 23 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | + 1.099 |
| 24 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | + 1.165 |
| 25 | James Wharton | PREMA | + 1.190 |
| 26 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | + 1.283 |
| 27 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | + 1.332 |
| 28 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | + 1.399 |
| 29 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | + 1.857 |
| 30 | Ricardo Escotto | AIX Racing | + 2.357 |
Qualifying
A shower moments before the session left the track damp as Sharp, Wharton and Garfias led the field out on track, with Sharp setting 2m 06.864 as the initial benchmark time in the fifth minute.
Taponen however quickly lowered the benchmark time to 2m 05.401 just seconds later, but Slater who had gone alone without benefit of a slipstream found further time to lay 2m 05.150 as the time to beat from the Finnish driver by 0.251s.
Everyone soon tripped over each other as everyone attempted two warm-up laps which led some to pit early, whilst others went again but struggled to improve as the rain continued to fall steadily and Slater remained unchallenged at halfway mark.
Nakamura meanwhile found himself 12th and on provisional reverse-pole for the Sprint ahead of his fellow Japanese rival, Kato who sat 11th-quickest at the halfway mark of the session.
The session however was red flagged with nine minutes left on the clock after Nael slowed down on a warm-up lap which caused a chain reaction, during which Stromsted hit the rear of David’s AIX car, with Garfias and Sharp caught in the incident, whilst Yamakoshi’s evasive action sent him into the barriers.
Stewards after a 13-minute pause decided to not resume the session, which left Slater on provisional pole from Taponen, Yamakoshi, Stromsted, Rivera, Colnaghi, Clerot, Badoer, Ugochukwu, Nael, Kato and Nakamura.
Post-session, stewards handed Stromsted a five-place grid penalty for both races after he was adjudged at fault for the collision.
Nael who had headed the field and triggered the chain of events was too served a five-place grid penalty, whilst Kato, Sharp, Wharton, Nakamura and Bhirombhakdi were handed a three-place grid drop for unnecessary slow driving in the build-up to the incident.
Ugochukwu and Xie received combined six-place grid penalties – made up of separate three-place grid penalties – for unnecessary slow driving and leaving the track to gain positions in the queue.
Del Pino and Garfias meanwhile received three-place grid penalties for weaving within sight of other cars on the circuit.
Badoer consequently was left on reverse pole from his Rodin teammate, Clerot for the sprint race once the grid penalties were applied.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Freddie Slater | Trident | 2m 05.150 |
| 2 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | + 0.251 |
| 3 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | + 0.339 |
| 4 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | + 0.368 |
| 5 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | + 0.376 |
| 6 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | + 0.545 |
| 7 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | + 0.620 |
| 8 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | + 0.701 |
| 9 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | + 0.755 |
| 10 | Theophile Nael | Campos | + 0.778 |
| 11 | Taito Kato | ART GP | + 0.781 |
| 12 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | + 0.826 |
| 13 | Christian Ho | Rodin | + 0.856 |
| 14 | Louis Sharp | PREMA | + 0.877 |
| 15 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | + 0.905 |
| 16 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | + 1.003 |
| 17 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | + 1.029 |
| 18 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | + 1.039 |
| 19 | James Wharton | PREMA | + 1.072 |
| 20 | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | + 1.078 |
| 21 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | + 1.173 |
| 22 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | + 1.184 |
| 23 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | + 1.191 |
| 24 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | + 1.260 |
| 25 | Kanato Le | ART GP | + 1.279 |
| 26 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | + 1.407 |
| 27 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | + 1.681 |
| 28 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | + 1.750 |
| 29 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | + 1.872 |
| 30 | Ricardo Escotto | AIX Racing | + 2.204 |
Sprint
Towards the end of the formation lap, De Palo was instructed to start the race from the pit lane following a late front=tyre swap on the grid.
Up front, Badoer made a clean start to lead Clerot whilst Nakamura swiftly cleared Colnaghi for third, before he then passed Clerot on the outside of Les Combes into second.
Just further behind the leaders, Ugochukwu got loose through that corner and punted Slater into the barriers to end the Brit’s race, in what stewards ultimately determined was a racing incident between the title rivals as the safety car was deployed.
Colnaghi meanwhile rear-ended Yamakoshi into a spin at the same corner to ruin the Japanese driver’s race.
Racing resumed on lap four but Badoer lost the lead to Nakamura who swept round the outside of Les Combes to claim the lead and ultimately victory from the Rodin pair and Colnaghi.
Kato held fifth until he lost position to Nael on lap seven on the Kemmel Straight but repassed the Frenchman on the penultimate lap on the outside of Les Combes to reclaim the position, albeit following a three-lap safety car to safely remove polystyrene blown onto the circuit.
Taponen cleared Rivera on lap eight on the inside of La Source to take seventh ahead of the Mexican, as Giusti and Stromsted rounded out the top ten.
Post-race, De Palo received a pair of 10-second time penalties for forcing Xie off track during a battle for position then cutting across Les Combes as he defended from Barrichello, which dropped him from 22nd to 28th in the classification.
Wharton meanwhile received a 20-second time penalty – made up of four separate five-second time penalties – having exceeded track limits on seven occasions, which dropped him from 16th to 27th in the classification.
In the drivers’ standings, Ugochukwu remained 18 points clear of Slater at the summit, but Nael cut his deficit in third down to 39 points.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | 12 | 31m 08.854 |
| 2 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | 12 | + 0.978 |
| 3 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | 12 | + 1.459 |
| 4 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | 12 | + 3.053 |
| 5 | Taito Kato | ART GP | 12 | + 3.370 |
| 6 | Theophile Nael | Campos | 12 | + 3.730 |
| 7 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | 12 | + 3.996 |
| 8 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | 12 | + 4.514 |
| 9 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | 12 | + 4.966 |
| 10 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | 12 | + 5.657 |
| 11 | Christian Ho | Rodin | 12 | + 6.239 |
| 12 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | 12 | + 6.840 |
| 13 | Louis Sharp | PREMA | 12 | + 7.816 |
| 14 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | 12 | + 7.856 |
| 15 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | 12 | + 8.234 |
| 16 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | 12 | + 9.957 |
| 17 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | 12 | + 10.138 |
| 18 | Kanato Le | ART GP | 12 | + 10.282 |
| 19 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | 12 | + 11.209 |
| 20 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | 12 | + 11.442 |
| 21 | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | 12 | + 12.191 |
| 22 | Ricardo Escotto | AIX Racing | 12 | + 13.586 |
| 23 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | 12 | + 13.842 |
| 24 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | 12 | + 14.860 |
| 25 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | 12 | + 16.148 |
| 26 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | 12 | + 16.890 |
| 27 | James Wharton | PREMA | 12 | + 28.983 |
| 28 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | 12 | + 32.558 |
| 29 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | 11 | + 1 Lap |
| RET | Freddie Slater | Trident | 0 | Collision |
Feature Race
At lights out, Slater made a slow getaway which gave Taponen the lead from Yamakoshi who swept around the outside of Les Combes.
The safety car however was deployed after David was forced off at Malmedy into the gravel during a mid-field collision.
Racing resumed on lap four as most of the top ten held position except for an overtake from Rivera on Colnaghi on the fifth lap for fourth.
Slater bided his time before he passed Taponen into Les Combes on lap seven for second then cleared Yamakoshi a lap later on the inside of the same corner.
Rivera meanwhile cleared Taponen on lap 10 then Yamakoshi a lap later to climb to second, from which he swiftly reeled Slater in and passed the Brit into Les Combes on lap 12 for the lead and his first Feature Race victory in the category.
Yamakoshi subsequently passed Slater on lap 13 into Les Combes as the Brit struggled with his tyre wear, although Slater eventually held on for third from Colnaghi and Gladysz.
Kato, Taponen, Nakamura, Giusti and Badoer rounded out the top ten on the road, although Badoer subsequently was handed a five-second time penalty post race for having exceeded track limits which dropped him to 14th in the classification and handed the final point to Stromsted.
Le and Deligny too received five-second time penalties due to breaches of track limits which dropped them from 19th and 24th to 23rd and 25th respectively.
Lacorte post-race was handed two sets of five-second time penalties for five breaches of track limits which saw him slip from 12th to 18th in the classification, whilst Escotto too was found guilty of the same breaches but remained the last classified driver in 26th position once his penalties were applied.
In the drivers’ standings, Ugochukwu’s failure to finish in the top ten meant that Slater reduced his title deficit to the American down to a single point.
F3 now head to the Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary for the seventh round next weekend from 24-26 July.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | 15 | 34m 44.732 |
| 2 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | 15 | + 1.685 |
| 3 | Freddie Slater | Trident | 15 | + 4.453 |
| 4 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | 15 | + 4.927 |
| 5 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | 15 | + 5.337 |
| 6 | Taito Kato | ART GP | 15 | + 7.815 |
| 7 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | 15 | + 9.054 |
| 8 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | 15 | + 9.379 |
| 9 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | 15 | + 10.652 |
| 10 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | 15 | + 12.524 |
| 11 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | 15 | + 13.427 |
| 12 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | 15 | + 14.113 |
| 13 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | 15 | + 14.645 |
| 14 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | 15 | + 16.196 |
| 15 | Theophile Nael | Campos | 15 | + 17.529 |
| 16 | Louis Sharp | PREMA | 15 | + 19.587 |
| 17 | James Wharton | PREMA | 15 | + 22.105 |
| 18 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | 15 | + 22.840 |
| 19 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | 15 | + 23.183 |
| 20 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | 15 | + 24.413 |
| 21 | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | 15 | + 24.958 |
| 22 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | 15 | + 25.060 |
| 23 | Kanato Le | ART GP | 15 | + 27.770 |
| 24 | Christian Ho | Rodin | 15 | + 29.078 |
| 25 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | 15 | + 32.522 |
| 26 | Ricardo Escotto | AIX Racing | 15 | + 42.160 |
| RET | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | 9 | Mechanical |
| RET | Matteo De Palo | Trident | 1 | Damage |
| RET | Yevan David | AIX Racing | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | 0 | Mechanical |
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