Round 1 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to Melbourne, where it's time for our post-qualifying press conference with our top three finishers. In third place, Freddie Slater for TRIDENT. In second, Ugo Ugochukwu for Campos Racing. And your first pole sitter of 2026, Théophile Nael, also for Campos Racing. Théo, starting with you. Congratulations, you are on pole position for the first Feature Race of this season and this is your first Pole Position in Formula 3. Can you take us through the lap because you left it to the very last moment to make it to pole? Théophile Nael: Well, thank you. Yeah, it has been a tough quali for me, really stressful. I didn't manage to complete the lap at the beginning of the quali. It was a bit of a sequence in the second run as well, so I had to give everything in the last run. I did out, push, so a bit unusual sequence for F3, but it worked well. I'm really happy we are 1-2 for the team, so looking forward to the weekend.

FIA Formula 3: You were on the back foot early on in the session after losing your first lap to track limits. How satisfying is it to fight back and secure that top spot like that?

Nael: Yeah, it's very, very tough. For me, it was a bit frustrating in the pit lane, waiting for the second set of tyres to close the lap because I wanted to be safe. But unfortunately, the second run didn't go as planned, so I had to refocus for the last one. It worked well, but it was really stressful until the last lap.

FIA Formula 3: Obviously, there's still work to do before Sunday and the starting race, but how positive is it to start your season in this position?

Nael: For sure, it's very, very positive. Pre-season testing has been great as well. It was quite good for the team. So, I was confident coming into this first run. I was expecting to be at the top, maybe not on pole, but to be in pole for the first run, it's super nice.

FIA Formula 3: Well, congratulations again for today. Moving on to you, Ugo, P2. It's a good start for you as well with the front row for Campos and for yourself. How do you reflect on that session? Because you looked like you had strong pace all the way through, and in the end, it's P2.

Ugo Ugochukwu: Yeah, it's definitely been a good Friday here in Melbourne. Already from practice, pace has been strong. So going into quali, we knew we'd be at the front. Yeah, of course, a bit unfortunate to miss out on pole by such a narrow margin. It's always a bit frustrating, but P2, all in all, is still a good result, and 1-2 for the team is really good. They really deserve it. Working hard all winter, and we came out really punchy. So yeah, really perfect start to the season.

FIA Formula 3: We saw that trip across the grass at Turn 10 in the session. Did that change the course of the session at all, or was it quickly out of your mind?

Ugochukwu: Yeah, it was quickly out of my mind, to be honest. But I think to do my best lap on the first lap is not really ideal in F3. So I think we know how much more there was in it. We had a big gap in the first run, but I couldn't quite maximise the next two. But that's fine. We just focus on the races. P2 is still a good starting position, and I'm looking forward to fighting for the win on Sunday.

FIA Formula 3: Talking about Sunday, you have a pretty clear view on the grid. How do you rate your chances of starting 2026 with a win?

Ugochukwu: Yeah, starting on the front row always helps, of course. We'll see how our race is. We've been feeling pretty confident on that side as well. So I'm sure it's going to be a close race between us three. Managing tyres the whole way, some DRS battles, and yeah, we'll see how we get on at the end.

FIA Formula 3: It should be very interesting. Thank you very much, Ugo. Congrats for today. Freddie, thank you for waiting. P3, in the end, for you, you were in and around the front all session, but then took a big step on your last lap. Are you satisfied with the results in the end?

Freddie Slater: Yeah, I think to come here and be on the second row in P3 against some very experienced drivers in this field is very, very positive. To be on P3 with the first time here, we made a big step from FP this morning, completely different conditions that we had to adapt to, and then we did the job in the end. So very satisfying in the end.

FIA Formula 3: Can you talk us through how you had to manage the session? Because it looked very busy on track, especially in the final sector coming into the final laps.

Slater: Yeah, it's a little bit different for me. F3 is very chaotic towards the end of the lap when you're going for your ultimate lap. Yeah, it was crazy. You have to defend, make sure the tyres are in check, make sure the brakes are the right temperature, all this sort of stuff. So to have many cars behind trying to get past you and then you're trying to pass the cars in front is very crazy. But no, it's good fun.

FIA Formula 3: It's your first F3 race weekend. It's your first time racing here in Melbourne. You'll be P3 on the grid on Sunday. How confident are you that you can take the fight to the Campos drivers ahead of you?

Slater: Yeah, I'm ready for the fight, that's for sure. But yeah, it's obviously a new experience for me. We need to do some digging overnight for the sprint race to see if we can learn something before it happens, let's say, tomorrow and then trying to learn a bit about the tyres for Sunday to make my life a little bit easier.

FIA Formula 3: Thank you very much. Good job today.