Roundup of a blockbuster 2026 F3 season finale in Madrid, Spain as the championship was finally settled.
Freddie Slater arrived in Madrid with a 15-point lead over Ugo Ugochukwu, whilst Ernesto Rivera and Theophile Nael held outside chances at snatching the title in a blockbuster climax which featured a bonus Qualifying and Feature Race.
The title fight eventually went to the final race as the final standings were settled.
Practice
ART GP’s Taito Kato, Maciej Gladysz and Kanato Le were first on track and the former set 2m 27.435 as the initial unrepresentative benchmark, which he soon lowered to 1m 53.026 as the representative benchmark time in the eighth minute.
He then found a further second a lap later but Hitech GP’s Jin Nakamura found more time to set 1m 51.643 before Kato then Ugochukwu found further time just minutes later.
Ugochukwu eventually sat fastest at the halfway mark with 1m 50.587 from Nakamura and Rivera, but Slater in the 25th minute posted 1m 50.493 to go top before he traded fastest laps with Kato and Ugochukwu.
Nakamura eventually emerged quickest with 1m 49.835 set in the penultimate minute before red flags came out, after DAMS’ Nicola Lacorte slid into the outside barriers on the exit of Turn Nine.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | 1m 49.835 |
| 2 | Taito Kato | ART GP | + 0.101 |
| 3 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | + 0.144 |
| 4 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | + 0.165 |
| 5 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | + 0.167 |
| 6 | Freddie Slater | Trident | + 0.196 |
| 7 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | + 0.244 |
| 8 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | + 0.357 |
| 9 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | + 0.460 |
| 10 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | + 0.650 |
| 11 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | + 0.705 |
| 12 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | + 0.733 |
| 13 | Theophile Nael | Campos | + 0.743 |
| 14 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | + 0.795 |
| 15 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | + 0.923 |
| 16 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | + 0.968 |
| 17 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | + 0.976 |
| 18 | James Wharton | PREMA | + 0.991 |
| 19 | Kanato Le | ART GP | + 1.166 |
| 20 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | + 1.217 |
| 21 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | + 1.223 |
| 22 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | + 1.555 |
| 23 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | + 1.678 |
| 24 | Alex Powell | PREMA | + 1.840 |
| 25 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | + 2.184 |
| 26 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | + 2.347 |
| 27 | Niccolo Maccagnani | Rodin | + 2.419 |
| 28 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | + 2.454 |
| WD | Riccardo Escotto | AIX Racing | Injury |
| WD | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | Injury |
Q1
Kato was first on track and posted 2m 15.162 as the initial unrepresentative benchmark time which he subsequently lowered to 1m 51.127 on his first representative flier, which saw him head Powell by 0.161s after the first run.
He then lowered his benchmark time to 1m 50.649 but Clerot went 0.092s quicker ahead of the Japanese driver, whilst Slater complained of a loose right-rear tyre which forced him to pit and ultimately qualify 17th for the sprint and first feature race.
Kato meanwhile topped the first qualifying session to claim pole for the first feature race with 1m 50.535 set in the final minute to head Clerot by 0.012s, whilst Taponen, Ugochukwu, Deligny, Nakamura, Rivera, Giusti, Del Pino, Powell, Nael and Wharton rounded out the top 12.
Wharton’s 12th-placed finish also handed him reverse-pole for the opening sprint race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Taito Kato | ART GP | 1m 50.535 |
| 2 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | + 0.012 |
| 3 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | + 0.102 |
| 4 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | + 0.142 |
| 5 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | + 0.215 |
| 6 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | + 0.322 |
| 7 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | + 0.342 |
| 8 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | + 0.395 |
| 9 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | + 0.410 |
| 10 | Alex Powell | PREMA | + 0.448 |
| 11 | Theophile Nael | Campos | + 0.573 |
| 12 | James Wharton | PREMA | + 0.595 |
| 13 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | + 0.607 |
| 14 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | + 0.623 |
| 15 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | + 0.623 |
| 16 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | + 0.661 |
| 17 | Freddie Slater | Trident | + 0.680 |
| 18 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | + 0.725 |
| 19 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | + 0.811 |
| 20 | Kanato Le | ART GP | + 0.882 |
| 21 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | + 1.057 |
| 22 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | + 1.221 |
| 23 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | + 1.235 |
| 24 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | + 1.341 |
| 25 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | + 1.400 |
| 26 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | + 1.659 |
| 27 | Niccolo Maccagnani | Rodin | + 2.165 |
| 28 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | + 2.350 |
| WD | Riccardo Escotto | AIX Racing | Injury |
| WD | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | Injury |
Q2
Kato was again first out on track and posted 2m 11.513 as an initial unrepresentative benchmark time which he soon lowered to 1m 50.847, but Slater proceeded to post 1m 49.972 as the fastest lap of the opening stint.
Kato, Ugochukwu then Clerot displaced him and the Brazilian looked set for pole until Taponen produced 1m 49.750 on his final flier to snatch pole for the second feature race, whilst Ugochukwu improved to second and 0.021s off the Finnish driver as Clerot settled for third despite crashing at the final corner.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | 1m 49.750 |
| 2 | Ugo Ugochukwu | PREMA | + 0.021 |
| 3 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | + 0.080 |
| 4 | Taito Kato | ART GP | + 0.106 |
| 5 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | + 0.150 |
| 6 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | + 0.158 |
| 7 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | + 0.203 |
| 8 | Freddie Slater | Trident | + 0.222 |
| 9 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | + 0.273 |
| 10 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | + 0.282 |
| 11 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | + 0.364 |
| 12 | Alex Powell | PREMA | + 0.383 |
| 13 | Theophile Nael | Campos | + 0.501 |
| 14 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | + 0.587 |
| 15 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | + 0.597 |
| 16 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | + 0.635 |
| 17 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | + 0.691 |
| 18 | James Wharton | PREMA | + 0.691 |
| 19 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | + 0.794 |
| 20 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | + 0.852 |
| 21 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | + 1.000 |
| 22 | Kanato Le | ART GP | + 1.012 |
| 23 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | + 1.308 |
| 24 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | + 1.378 |
| 25 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | + 1.687 |
| 26 | Niccolo Maccagnani | Rodin | + 1.746 |
| 27 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | + 1.835 |
| 28 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | No Time |
| WD | Riccardo Escotto | AIX Racing | Injury |
| WD | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | Injury |
Sprint
At lights out, Nael got the inside line into the first corner to pass Wharton for the lead but was repassed into the chicane at Turn 5, although Wharton cut that corner and was forced to give the lead back to Nael later that lap to avoid a penalty.
Giusti meanwhile cut the first corner as he passed Del Pino for fourth at the start but was forced to relinquish the position back to the Spaniard on lap 5 upon MP Motorsport’s instruction.
Everyone subsequently settled into a holding pattern such was the difficulty in overtaking, during which the top ten stayed as they were until Kato dived past Taponen into turn five on lap 12 for tenth.
Up front, Nael cruised to victory from Wharton, Powell, Del Pino, Giusti and Rivera, whilst Deligny received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which promoted Nakamura to seventh from Ugochukwu, Kato and Taponen.
In the drivers’ standings, Slater’s lead over Ugochukwu was trimmed to 12 points after he only finished 18th, whilst Nael is still within title contention but 55 points behind the Brit in third.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Theophile Nael | Campos | 16 | 29m 58.139 |
| 2 | James Wharton | PREMA | 16 | + 8.993 |
| 3 | Alex Powell | PREMA | 16 | + 11.227 |
| 4 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | 16 | + 13.711 |
| 5 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | 16 | + 14.543 |
| 6 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | 16 | + 15.307 |
| 7 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | 16 | + 20.369 |
| 8 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | 16 | + 20.857 |
| 9 | Taito Kato | ART GP | 16 | + 22.027 |
| 10 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | 16 | + 23.617 |
| 11 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | 16 | + 25.563 |
| 12 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | 16 | + 26.749 |
| 13 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | 16 | + 27.225 |
| 14 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | 16 | + 28.178 |
| 15 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | 16 | + 29.535 |
| 16 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | 16 | + 36.824 |
| 17 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | 16 | + 37.151 |
| 18 | Freddie Slater | Trident | 16 | + 37.585 |
| 19 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | 16 | + 38.013 |
| 20 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | 16 | + 38.569 |
| 21 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | 16 | + 39.526 |
| 22 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | 16 | + 40.270 |
| 23 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | 16 | + 40.746 |
| 24 | Kanato Le | ART GP | 16 | + 42.832 |
| 25 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | 16 | + 43.817 |
| 26 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | 16 | + 44.822 |
| 27 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | 16 | + 47.139 |
| 28 | Niccolo Maccagnani | Rodin | 16 | + 48.115 |
| WD | Riccardo Escotto | AIX Racing | 0 | Injury |
| WD | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | 0 | Injury |
Feature Race One
Kato lost the lead to Clerot into the opening corner after the Brazilian snatched the inside line into the corner as Taponen and Ugochukwu held position behind the pair, whilst Deligny lost fifth to Nakamura then clattered into teammate, Del Pino which spun the pair out on the run to turn seven.
Their collision however triggered a chain reaction behind which involved Garfias, Stromsted, Shin, Barrichello and Lacorte, whilst Gladysz got launched over the rear of McLaughlin at high speed but those involved in the incident walked away unharmed as the red flags came out.
Stromsted and Lacorte though were able to recover to the pits for the restart which commenced 27 minutes later, albeit under the safety car before Clerot led everyone away and built a near-two second gap to Kato.
His lead however was wiped out on lap 10 when the safety car was deployed after Slater had spun out at turn 20 on the previous lap, having lost the rear of his Trident through the corner, although Giusti was able to clear Rivera into turn one on lap 10 before the safety car came out.
Racing resumed on lap 12 and Clerot calmly led Kato, Taponen, Ugochukwu, Nakamura and Giusti to the checkered flag, whilst Rivera lost seventh to Powell on the restart but clung onto eighth from Nael and Wharton.
Ugochukwu, Rivera and Nael’s top-ten finishes meant that Campos were crowned teams’ champions for a second consecutive season, whilst Ugochukwu retook the title lead by virtue of one sprint win to Slater’s none on countback as the pair were tied on 141 points.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | 19 | 1h 7m 36.729 |
| 2 | Kanato Le | ART GP | 19 | + 1.341 |
| 3 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | 19 | + 2.866 |
| 4 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | 19 | + 4.633 |
| 5 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | 19 | + 5.503 |
| 6 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | 19 | + 6.295 |
| 7 | Alex Powell | PREMA | 19 | + 7.498 |
| 8 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | 19 | + 9.670 |
| 9 | Theophile Nael | Campos | 19 | + 10.149 |
| 10 | James Wharton | PREMA | 19 | + 11.421 |
| 11 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | 19 | + 13.161 |
| 12 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | 19 | + 14.887 |
| 13 | Kanato Le | ART GP | 19 | + 17.842 |
| 14 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | 19 | + 19.630 |
| 15 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | 19 | + 20.229 |
| 16 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | 19 | + 20.986 |
| 17 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | 19 | + 21.394 |
| 18 | Niccolo Maccagnani | Rodin | 19 | + 21.816 |
| 19 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | 19 | + 22.450 |
| 20 | Nicola Lacorte | DAMS | 19 | + 33.747 |
| RET | Freddie Slater | Trident | 8 | Spin |
| RET | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | 1 | Damage |
| RET | Enzo Deligny | VAR | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Jose Garfias | PREMA | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | 0 | Collision |
| WD | Riccardo Escotto | AIX Racing | 0 | Injury |
| WD | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | 0 | Injury |
Feature Race Two
At the final lights out of this season, Taponen made a clean start to cut across Ugochukwu to take the lead as the top five held position, whilst Giusti cleared Deligny for sixth and David passed Slater for eighth.
Slater however was able to clear David with an outside move round the outside of Turn One to the inside of Turn Two to reclaim eighth on lap five, as the pack settled into a DRS train led by Taponen.
Nobody was eventually able to mount a successful overtake inside the top ten until David ran wide out of La Monumental to lose ninth to Rivera on lap 16, before the safety car was deployed a lap later after Yamakoshi came to a stop on track.
The race however was able to resume for the final lap as Taponen became the first Finnish winner in F3, ahead of Ugochukwu – whose second-placed finish gave him the drivers’ title – as Clerot rounded out the podium from Kato and Colnaghi.
Giusti, Deligny, Slater, Rivera and David rounded out the top ten as Slater was left to settle for the vice-champion title, whilst Taponen’s win elevated him to third in the championship.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | 19 | 37m 25.407 |
| 2 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | 19 | + 1,398 |
| 3 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | 19 | + 2.302 |
| 4 | Taito Kato | ART GP | 19 | + 2.701 |
| 5 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | 19 | + 3.321 |
| 6 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | 19 | + 3.827 |
| 7 | Enzo Deligny | VAR | 19 | + 4.311 |
| 8 | Freddie Slater | Trident | 19 | + 4.780 |
| 9 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | 19 | + 5.222 |
| 10 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | 19 | + 5.625 |
| 11 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | 19 | + 6.065 |
| 12 | Theophile Nael | Campos | 19 | + 6.480 |
| 13 | Alex Powell | Hitech GP | 19 | + 7.117 |
| 14 | Fionn McLaughlin | PREMA | 19 | + 7.766 |
| 15 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | 19 | + 8.758 |
| 16 | James Wharton | PREMA | 19 | + 9.532 |
| 17 | Bruno Del Pino | VAR | 19 | + 10.056 |
| 18 | Matteo De Palo | Campos | 19 | + 10.865 |
| 19 | Kanato Le | Trident | 19 | + 11.849 |
| 20 | Nicola Lacorte | ART GP | 19 | + 13.134 |
| 21 | Noah Stromsted | DAMS | 19 | + 14.011 |
| 22 | Maciej Gladysz | ART GP | 19 | + 14.554 |
| 23 | Fernando Barrichello | Rodin | 19 | + 15.101 |
| 24 | Niccolo Maccagnani | AIX Racing | 19 | + 15.619 |
| 25 | Michael Shin | Hitech GP | 19 | + 2o.893 |
| 26 | Jose Garfias | PREMA | 19 | + 47.420 |
| 27 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | 18 | + 1 Lap |
| 28 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | VAR | 16 | Mechanical |
| WD | Riccardo Escotto | AIX Racing | 0 | Injury |
| WD | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | 0 | Injury |
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