Nigerian-American driver Ugo Ugochukwu secured his first-ever win in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with a commanding drive in the season-opening Melbourne Feature Race on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at Albert Park.
Starting from second on the grid for Campos Racing, Ugochukwu dropped to third after a sluggish launch but quickly fought back. He overtook Freddie Slater (TRIDENT) on lap two to reclaim second, then passed pole-sitter and teammate Théophile Nael shortly after to take the lead. The 18-year-old built a comfortable gap—reaching seven seconds at one point—before two Safety Car periods disrupted the race.
The first Safety Car came on lap nine following Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi's crash at Turn 12. A second was deployed later when Woohyun Shin stopped on track with suspension damage, leading to the race finishing under Safety Car conditions.
Penalties reshaped the podium: Nael received a five-second penalty for a false start, dropping him out of contention, while Noah Stromsted was hit with a 10-second penalty for causing a collision. This promoted Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix) to third after a strong recovery drive.
Freddie Slater finished second, having pressured Nael before using DRS to pass him post-restart.
The final top 10 order was:
- Ugo Ugochukwu (Campos Racing)
- Freddie Slater (TRIDENT)
- Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix)
- Bruno del Pino (Van Amersfoort Racing) – who won the earlier Sprint Race
- Maciej Gladysz
- Enzo Deligny
- Brad Benavides (AIX Racing)
- Pedro Clerot
- Jin Nakamura
- Mattia Colnaghi
Post-race, an elated Ugochukwu said:
“The Feature Race done here in Melbourne, managed to come away with a win, so super pleased, my first win in F3. It’s been a perfect start to the season, we have been quick all weekend. P2 off the line, fell back a little at the start but managed to make my way back through to the lead and from there I had a nice gap until the last Safety Car. Super happy and thank you to the whole team.”
After Round 1, Ugochukwu tops the drivers’ standings with 25 points, ahead of Slater and del Pino (both 18 points), Kato (16 points), and Deligny (12 points).
In the teams’ championship, Van Amersfoort Racing leads with 30 points, followed by Campos Racing (27) and ART Grand Prix (26), with TRIDENT (20) and Rodin Motorsport rounding out the top five.
Ugochukwu, son of Nigerian supermodel Oluchi Onweagba and Italian fashion designer Luca Orlandi, brings a strong junior record: third in the F4 British Championship (Carlin), runner-up in 2023 Italian F4 (Prema), and the first American Macau Grand Prix winner in 43 years in 2024. He was part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme from 2021 to 2025 and stepped up to FIA F3 in 2025 with PREMA before joining Campos for 2026.
This victory marks a flying start for the promising talent in what promises to be a competitive 2026 season.
