2026 F3 Season Roundup: Round Eight – Italy

Roundup of the penultimate round of the 2026 F3 season at Monza, Italy. 

Freddie Slater arrived at this penultimate round as the championship leader from Ugo Ugochukwu by just eight points, but a dramatic weekend packed with twists saw the title fight swing further towards one of the title rivals ahead of the season finale.

 

Practice

Van Amersfoort Racing’s (VAR) Enzo Deligny was first onto the track but it was MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen who set the initial pace of 1m 41.686, which he then lowered to 1m 40.020 on his next flying lap.

Hitech GP’s Jin Nakamura was the first driver to break the 100-second barrier in the 12th minute as he set 1m 39.860, before Mattia Colnaghi posted 1m 39.467 moments later.

Taponen however immediately responded with 1m 39.150 to head his MP Motorsport teammate, Colnaghi by 0.317 seconds.

Ugochukwu briefly displaced Taponen in the 17th minute but the Finnish Ferrari junior responded with 1m 38.444 to head Taito Kato by 0.405s, before the latter cut his deficit to 0.202s by the halfway mark of the session.

Taponen on the half-hour mark found a further 0.007s to lower his benchmark time to 1m 38.437 as Hiyu Yamakoshi put his VAR car second and 0.088s shy of the Finnish driver ahead of the soft-tyre qualifying simulations after everyone had ran their carry-over hard tyres for much of the session.

With three minutes left, Ernesto Rivera posted 1m 37.901 to go quickest but Taponen responded with 1m 37.677 just under two minutes later.

Giusti however benefitted from the tow of Taponen to top the session with 1m 37.445 and 0.232s

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport	1m 37.445
2	Tuukka Taponen	MP Motorsport	+ 0.232
3	Mattia Colnaghi	MP Motorsport	+ 0.420
4	Gerrard Xie	DAMS	+ 0.430
5	Ernesto Rivera	Campos	+ 0.456
6	Yevan David	AIX Racing	+ 0.499
7	Kanato Le	ART GP	+ 0.533
8	Noah Stromsted	Trident	+ 0.626
9	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS	+ 0.650
10	Bruno Del Pino	MP Motorsport	+ 0.752
11	Brando Badoer	Rodin	+ 0.792
12	Pedro Clerot	Rodin	+ 0.834
13	Hiyu Yamakoshi	VAR	+ 0.887
14	Freddie Slater	Trident	+ 0.915
15	Theophile Nael	Campos	+ 0.954
16	Alex Powel	PREMA	+ 0.977
17	James Wharton	PREMA	+ 1.063
18	Enzo Deligny	VAR	+ 1.159
19	Christian Ho	Rodin	+ 1.167
20	Jin Nakamura	Hitech	+ 1.177
21	Taito Kato	ART GP	+ 1.201
22	Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi	DAMS	+ 1..298
23	Ugo Ugochukwu	Campos	+ 1.320
24	Ricardo Escotto	AIX Racing	+ 1.437
25	Matteo de Palo	Trident	+ 1.459
26	Fernando Barrichello	AIX Racing	+ 1.542
27	Jose Garfias	PREMA	+ 1.600
28	Fionn McLaughlin	Hitech GP	+ 1.802
29	Maciej Gladysz	ART GP	+ 1.857
30	Michael Shin	Hitech GP	+ 1.920

 

Qualifying

Qualifying Group A

Badoer was first to venture out onto the circuit as just he, Bhirombhakdi, Del Pino and Yamakoshi did installation laps before pitting.

Everyone then ventured out together in the fifth minute for two warm-up laps ahead of a single flying lap, which saw Taponen set 1m 38.458 as the benchmark but was beaten by Barrichello, Yamakoshi, Kato, Le and De Palo, as De Palo laid 1m 38.143 as the benchmark.

The Brazilian however was disqualified post-session for a diffuser height irregularity, which meant that Le inherited the fast time of the first group – having initially fell 0.020s shy.

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Kanato Le	ART GP	1m 38.163
2	Taito Kato	ART GP	+ 0.351
3	Hiyu Yamakoshi	VAR	+ 0.630
4	Fernando Barrichello	AIX Racing	+ 0.696
5	Tuukka Taponen	MP Motorsport	+ 0.720
6	Brando Badoer	Rodin	+ 0.740
7	Bruno Del Pino	VAR	+ 0.865
8	Noah Stromsted	Trident	+ 1.081
9	Ugo Ugochukwu	Campos	+ 1.266
10	Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi	DAMS	+ 1.278
11	Jose Garfias	PREMA	+ 1.402
12	Alex Powell	PREMA	+ 1.596
13	Fionn McLaughlin	Hitech GP	+ 1.681
14	Ricardo Escotto	AIX Racing	+ 1.775
15	Matteo De Palo	Trident	Diffuser

 

Qualifying Group B

Those in the second Qualifying Group consequently learned from their counterparts and opted for a single installation lap together, before David led everyone out for their single flying laps in the seventh minute with just a single warm-up lap.

David subsequently set 1m 39.156 as the initial benchmark time, which was bettered by several drivers as Slater posted 1m 38.114 to top the group and take overall pole, with the remainder of the group fulfilling the odd-numbered side of the grid before various penalties were applied.

Ugochukwu had already received a five-place grid drop for both races pre-Qualifying for his incident in Practice, but Colnaghi and Gladysz received three-place grid penalties for unsafe releases in the session.

Nael and Nakamura meanwhile failed to set a lap time but were permitted to start the races, having completed representative laps in Practice.

Badoer meanwhile inherited reverse-pole for the sprint by virtue of having finished sixth in Qualifying Group A who filled the even-numbered side of the grid.

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Freddie Slater	Trident	1m 38.114
2	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS	+ 0.351
3	Ernesto Rivera	Campos	+ 0.630
4	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport	+ 0.696
5	Mattia Colnaghi	MP Motorsport	+ 0.720
6	Pedro Clerot	Rodin	+ 0.740
7	Gerrard Xie	DAMS	+ 0.865
8	James Wharton	PREMA	+ 1.081
9	Maciej Gladysz	ART GP	+ 1.266
10	Yevan David	AIX Racing	+ 1.278
11	Enzo Deligny	VAR	+ 1.402
12	Michael Shin	Hitech GP	+ 1.596
13	Christian Ho	Rodin	+ 1.681
14	Theophile Nael	Campos	No Time
15	Jin Nakamura	Hitech GP	No Time

Sprint

Badoer led Clerot from lights out in an unusually clean start but ran wide out of Ascari to concede the lead to his Rodin teammate on lap two, before he was then passed by Taponen a lap later.

Badoer subsequently saw his race ruined at the start of lap four as he nudged Barrichello onto the grass on the run to the Variante del Rettifilo, which sent the Brazilian bouncing back into the side of him, and Taponen caught up innocently on the outside line.

Barrichello consequently retired whilst Giusti benefitted from the mayhem to pass Clerot for the lead into that chicane before the safety car was deployed.

Post-race, Badoer was handed a ten-second time penalty for causing the incident, but Barrichello was served a three-place grid drop for the sprint for his unsafe re-entry onto the track.

Racing resumed on lap seven and Kato cleared Rivera for third after the pair benefitted from the incident to move up the order under the safety car, whilst Colnaghi cleared Yamakoshi for fifth.

Colnaghi however cut the Variante del Rettifilo and slipped to ninth at the start of lap eight but up ahead, Clerot repassed Giusti for the lead on lap nine, only for the pair to be quickly cleared by Kato who assumed the lead briefly as Clerot repassed him before his engine blew up at the start of lap 10.

Xie meanwhile suffered a brake failure into Variante del Rettifilo on that same lap and was launched airborne over Shin, although the pair walked away unharmed and happily discussing the incident as the safety car came out, whilst Yamakoshi had cleared Kato for second on that lap.

Xie however received a ten-place grid penalty for the feature race for causing his collision with Shin.

Racing recommenced on lap 14 as Slater – who had quietly bided his time after he started 12th – leapt from sixth to fourth with passes on Colnaghi and Rivera, with the latter having cut Variante del Rettifilo trying to pass Kato.

Kato meanwhile dived up the inside of Giusti and Yamakoshi into the Parabolica on lap 15 to take the lead which he held to the flag for his maiden win, as Yamakoshi and Slater demoted Giusti to fourth on the next lap before Slater claimed second into the Parabolica.

Yamakoshi however retook the position on the penultimate lap only for Slater and Giusti to repass him on the final lap, yet he and David were able to demote Giusti to fifth by the checkered flag, as Slater finished second.

Colnaghi, Rivera, Deligny, Lacorte and Del Pino completed the top ten ahead of Nael who drove from 28th to 11th and briefly flirted with a points finish.

Post-race, Wharton received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision on lap 13 which ultimately ended Le’s race  two laps down, whilst Escotto received the same penalty for colliding with Badoer.

In the drivers’ standings, Slater extended his title lead over Ugochukwu to 19 points.

Position	Driver	Team	Laps	Time
1	Taito Kato	ART GP	18	35m 37.873
2	Freddie Slater	Trident	18	+ 0.521
3	Hiyu Yamakoshi	VAR	18	+ 0.968
4	Yevan David	AIX Racing	18	+ 1.694
5	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport	18	+ 2.055
6	Mattia Colnaghi	MP Motorsport	18	+ 2.640
7	Ernesto Rivera	Campos	18	+ 4.737
8	Enzo Deligny	VAR	18	+ 6.961
9	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS	18	+ 7.317
10	Bruno Del Pino	VAR	18	+ 7.986
11	Theophile Nael	Campos	18	+ 8.476
12	Jin Nakamura	Hitech GP	18	+ 9.037
13	Ugo Ugochukwu	Campos	18	+ 9.163
14	Fionn McLaughlin	Hitech GP	18	+ 9.769
15	Noah Stromsted	Trident	18	+ 10.318
16	Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi	DAMS	18	+ 12.325
17	Jose Garfias	PREMA	18	+ 13.242
18	Christian Ho	Rodin	18	+ 13.612
19	Alex Powell	PREMA	18	+ 15.027
20	Matteo De Palo	Trident	18	+ 15.974
21	James Wharton	PREMA	18	+ 18.924
22	Riccardo Escotto	AIX Racing	18	+ 24.194
23	Brando Badoer	Rodin	18	+ 29.590
24	Kanato Le	ART GP	16	+ 2 Laps
RET	Tuukka Taponen	MP Motorsport	14	Damage
RET	Pedro Clerot	Rodin	9	Engine
RET	Michael Shin	Hitech GP	9	Collision
RET	Gerrard Xie	DAMS	9	Collision
RET	Maciej Gladysz	ART GP	6	Damage
RET	Fernando Barrichello	AIX Racing	3	Collision

 

Feature Race

At lights out, Slater made a clean start to lead Le and Lacorte whilst Taponen improved from eighth to fourth but cut the Variante del Roggia chicane, which dropped him to seventh.

Further back, Ugochukwu spun after contact with Nael but was able to continue whilst McLaughlin suffered a suspension failure after he collided with Bhirombhakdi which brought out the safety car.

Racing resumed on lap five but Barrichello spun out at Variante della Roggia, whilst Lacorte and Kato cleared Rivera who had initially improved to third before the safety car.

Le then Kato cleared Slater on lap six which led Lacorte and Taponen to follow through on the next two laps, whilst Lacorte then cleared Kato for second on lap 8 but was repassed on the next lap.

Lacorte then won a three-driver battle with Le and Kato into Variante della Rettifilo on lap 10 to take the lead of his home race.

Slater’s race meanwhile endured further frustration as he got spun on lap 12 then retired on lap 14 after he lost his rear-right wheel at Ascari due to steering issues, which caused another safety car.

Lacorte on the restart fended off Taponen and Kato for victory whilst David mounted a late charge for his best F3 Feature Race result yet of fourth ahead of Le, Yamakoshi, Stromsted, Ugochukwu, Deligny and Wharton.

Slater nevertheless still leads the drivers’ standings going into the season finale with a 15-point lead over Ugochukwu.

F3 now heads to Madrid, Spain, on weekend of 11-13 September for a blockbuster season finale round, which features two Qualifying and Feature Race sessions as the title is finally settled.

Position	Driver	Team	Laps	Time
1	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS	22	+
2	Tuukka Taponen	MP Motorsport	22	+ 0.7
3	Taito Kato	ART GP	22	+ 2.2
4	Yevan David	AIX Racing	22	+ 4.0
5	Kanato Le	ART GP	22	+ 4.4
6	Hiyu Yamakoshi	VAR	22	+ 6.2
7	Noah Stromsted	Trident	22	+ 6.9
8	Ugo Ugochukwu	Campos	22	+ 7.2
9	Enzo Deligny	VAR	22	+ 8.8
10	James Wharton	PREMA	22	+ 9.3
11	Jose Garfias	PREMA	22	+ 9.6
12	Bruno Del Pino	VAR	22	+ 9.9
13	Christian Ho	Rodin	22	+ 10.6
14	Alex Powell	PREMA	22	+ 10.9
15	Ricardo Escotto	AIX Racing	22	+ 11.5
16	Matteo De Palo	Trident	22	+ 12.2
17	Theophile Nael	Campos	22	+ 14.9
18	Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi	DAMS	22	+ 15.3
19	Maciej Gladysz	ART GP	22	+ 15.6
20	Mattia Colnaghi	MP Motorsport	22	+ 18.4
21	Jin Nakamura	Hitech GP	22	+ 22.3
22	Pedro Clerot	Rodin	22	+ 25.3
23	Michael Shin	Hitech GP	22	+ 25.9
24	Brando Badoer	Rodin	22	+ 47.6
25	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport	20	Mechanical
RET	Fernando Barrichello	AIX Racing	17	Mechanical
RET	Freddie Slater	Trident	13	Steering/Tyre
RET	Ernesto Rivera	Campos	13	Mechanical
RET	Fionn McLaughlin	Hitech GP	1	Suspension
DNS	Gerrard Xie	DAMS	0	Mechanical