Maciej Gladysz inherits maiden F3 win at Silverstone following slew of penalties

Matteo De Palo was stripped of his victory around Silverstone following a flood of penalties that hit the Formula 3 grid after the chequered flag in the Feature Race.

De Palo secured a maiden victory at the iconic British Grand Prix weekend after a tough battle with his teammate and championship contender, Freddie Slater.

Slater made a good start at the line, but it was only after a few laps that he began to feel the challenge from De Palo behind. De Palo’s start saw him rocketing through the top five and closing in on his teammate’s gearbox.

The duo swapped places for the lead throughout the race, from lap 6 to the final laps, with De Palo ultimately coming out on top.

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A flood of penalties

Slater picked up damage in the final stages, dropping to fifth, just a place above his main title rival, Ugo Ugochukwu. Ugochukwu had fought his way through the field from 12th to sixth.

De Palo was able to enjoy the podium, champagne, and cheers from British fans without knowing that his day was about to turn for the worse.

Nearly nine hours after the chequered flag was waved, De Palo was disqualified, and penalties were handed out across the field. This completely shifted the final classification and the championship standings.

De Palo was disqualified hours after the race following an investigation into his diffuser. The FIA deemed the TRIDENT driver’s rear diffuser to be below the minimum height stipulated in Article 3.4. 1a of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Technical Regulations. Subsequently, he was disqualified from the race.

Ernesto Rivera would have inherited the race win after he initially finished second; however, he also received a five-second-penalty for weaving after the bridge in Turns 14 and 15. This was disallowed ahead of the race weekend, which resulted in penalties for James Wharton and Alessandro Guisti.

Although these weren’t the only drivers to receive penalties. Woohyun Shin received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

More changes down the field

Theophile Nael got a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in a battle with Louis Sharp’s PREMA.

Christian Ho, Gerrard Xie, and Fionn McLaughlin received five-second penalties for breaching track limits four times. Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi went over the track limits five times, resulting in a ten-second time penalty.

The penalties resulted in Maciej Gladysz inheriting his maiden Formula 3 victory, with Freddie Slater and Ugo Ugochukwu promoted to second and third, respectively.

Ugochukwu and Slater will go into the Belgian Grand Prix weekend with just 18 points separating them in the Formula 3 Championship standings.

The final classification reads as follows:

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