Theophile Nael took an uncontested victory in Barcelona-Cataluyna with Hiyu Yamakoshi and Ugo Ugochukwu finishing on the podium for the Formula 3 Feature Race.
Theophile Nael was in pole position for the weekend, continuing a trend he’s had in the opening F3 rounds. Alongside him was his teammate, Ugo Ugochukwu. Both drivers were looking to the long run down to Turn 1.
Nael was quick off the line, but it was Hiyu Yamakoshi who made the best start, moving into second and immediately putting pressure on Nael. He ran wide through the first corners as the two went side by side, but gave the lead back to Nael as he gained the position.
Freddie Slater made it up from seventh, getting ahead of Enzo Deligny in the opening laps. Slater was quick to set his sights on Ernesto Rivera in sixth. On Lap 3, Slater dove down the inside of the Campos driver, moving into sixth place.
David and Ho made contact
On Lap 3, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed as Yevan David and Christian Ho came into the pits to repair damage to their cars from contact.
Nael led the field green as the pack further through the order was compact and fighting for every position. Pedro Clerot ran through the bollard but managed to hold control of his Rodin.
On Lap 7, there was a fight between Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi and Nicola Lacorte.
Lacorte drove down the inside of his DAMS teammate, and the two collided as they broke late, sending both drivers spinning. Lacorte managed to get near a slip road as Bhirombhakdi got going again.
However, it was the end of Lacorte’s weekend.
Yamakoshi began to close the gap to Nael as the race went on, with the gap down to 0.4s on Lap 11. Equally, it was a difficult weekend for Slater as he received a five-second penalty for overtaking off track on Lap 1.
Final push for Nael
In the final six laps, Nael was finally beginning to extend his lead, with 1.5s sitting between him and Yamakoshi. Ugochukwu was on the back of Bruno Del Pino on Lap 20, the Campos driver sweeping around the outside of the VAR driver.
Slater was looking to repeat the move, but the TRIDENT driver struggled as he ran off the circuit briefly, losing places as he slipped into sixth place. Brando Badoer is moving into fifth.
Deligny was on the back of Slater, looking to gain a place from the struggling TRIDENT. On Lap 24, Slater tried to defend into the inside, but Deligny lunged around the outside and took the position.
Nael was keeping steady, but Yamamkoshi put in the fastest lap of the race and cut into the Campos’ lead.
The VAR duo of Deligny and Del Pino fought into Turn 1, Deligny getting ahead of his teammate into fifth.
Nael crossed the line to take his first F3 victory despite his three pole positions; Yamakoshi and Ugochukwu rounded out the podium. Badoer and Deligny completed the top five.
Del Pino and Rivera crossed the line sixth and seventh, Slater ended up eighth following his penalty and Kato and Maciej Gladysz rounded out the top ten.
READ MORE: Formula 3 2026 Barcelona-Cataluyna GP – Feature Race Results
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