Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Improved consistency has given Ugo Ugochukwu a shot at taking the FIA Formula 3 title in the Madrid finale, as he explained to Formula Scout.
Ugo Ugochukwu goes into this weekend’s three-race FIA Formula 3 finale at the new Madring circuit looking to overhaul a 15-point deficit to rival Freddie Slater.
Irrespective of the final outcome, he believes that “it’s been a really good year overall, starting from the first round,” something he puts down to his improved consistency compared to 2025.
Speaking to Formula Scout at the preceding round at Monza, the Campos Racing driver explained that he would be going “full attack and just maximizing what we can. With the double header in Madrid, you can’t really put one hand on the trophy yet because there’s a lot of points on offer there.
After topping the times in the pre-event test at the Madring, Ugochukwu arrives “with good confidence from the test, where the pace was really strong. It’s a brand new circuit, so we’ll see what challenges that brings but I’m sure it’s going to be quite a good fight until the end.”
Having moved across to Campos Racing for his sophomore season, Ugochukwu has looked a completely different driver to the one that laboured to 16th place in 2025. He has been a contender from the opening weekend in Australia.
Ugochukwu puts his “strong year” down to greater consistency, both in qualifying and the feature races.
Though a pole position has eluded him, the American has qualified on the front row four times, including for the second Madring race. However, in the rounds immediately prior to Madrid he had struggled to match his early-season pace, with the low point coming at Monza where he could only qualify 18th after a disastrous session.
Though the first three qualifying sessions of the year delivered strong results, he admits to feeling frustrated as his team-mate, Theophile Nael racked up three straight poles.
“To be honest, to be close to pole and not get it multiple times, is frustrating, but I prefer this way to be always in the top three in quali than to be on pole one week and then P20 the next because that way you can’t really fight for the championship.
“It would have been nice to get the points on Friday as well, but we know the big points are on Sunday, so being up there is the main thing.”
In fact, Ugochukwu’s race pace and racecraft have been superb. Five feature race podiums, plus converting a sprint race pole at Silverstone, having qualified only 12th, into a crushing 17-second victory margin, have contributed the bulk of his points.
Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
“The raw pace is one thing,” he says, “but there’s always many other factors that go into the weekend. It’s just really the preparation and trying to be on top of everything.
“Qualifying for me is probably one of the most important things in F3. I think we’ve been fairly consistent, and Spa was the only weekend [before Monza] where we lost points, which was a bit disappointing. On the other weekends, I felt we’ve maximized what we could by being consistent in the feature races, which is where the big points are.”
Winning the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy in New Zealand, against opposition that included F3 title rival Slater, gave him a major confidence boost after his difficult rookie F3 season, he feels.
“The series out there was really good, and the results just kind of came. It’s a different car, with different tracks, but getting another title under my belt was a good confidence boost.
Photo: Joel Hanks / TGR NZ
“I needed to adapt back into an F3 mindset but most people that raced out there arrived pretty prepared for the start of the season for F3, so I think it was definitely a positive start to the season.
That momentum continued across the Tasman Sea to Australia where “we really hit the ground running.
“We had a good idea from testing at the back end of last year that I was feeling in a good place with myself and with the team. But you never fully know until the first race, so it was nice to get a good result in Melbourne and we just carried that momentum throughout the year.”
But with Formula 3 being as competitive as it is, no driver can avoid having to fight it out in the midst of the pack on occasions. Keeping calm, picking up places and maximising the points are key to a championship challenge.
Ugochukwu has shown that he can get his elbows out, where necessary, while having the spatial awareness to stay out of trouble in a crowded midfield, regularly picking up places in the opening laps.
“The first part of the race is where you can chip away and maybe catch a few people napping, try to make some moves and then the race usually settles down because everyone’s looking after their tyres.
“So, you want to make moves, but you don’t want to compromise your race later on. It’s definitely not easy how you play it out but overall I think our race pace has been pretty strong, so we have been able to move forward more often than not.”
Ugochukwu agrees that he has made “good steps in the areas I had to. I’ve been more consistent than in previous years.
“I think my performance has been a bit stronger, yes, but I had some races in 2025 where it wasn’t clear the pace I had and the job I’d done, but people on the inside knew the job I was doing, so this year it was nice to finally prove that and show my strong pace and to be able to turn that into good results.”
He gives credit to his Campos team for helping him step up in 2026. “The whole chemistry of the team is really good. They’re working really well, and we’ve been really consistent each weekend.
“All three of us have always been in the top ten and we push each other a lot – we’re pushing each other on the simulator to beat each other and find more lap time.
“Campos managed to pick up the teams’ championship last year, which was good, but this year everyone is really motivated to get the drivers’ championship as well, so I think that’s everyone’s main focus going into the last round.”