Interview
Rivera satisfied with top five on F3 Qualifying debut in Monte Carlo
Ernesto Rivera faced a sizeable challenge taking part in his maiden FIA Formula 3 Qualifying session around the streets of Monte Carlo, but the Mexican rose to the challenge well.
The Campos Racing driver finished third overall in his group, earning himself a top five start for Sunday’s Feature Race.
Having been thrown in at the deep end and figuring out the F3 car in Qualifying trim for the very first time, he was satisfied but believes an even stronger result was on the cards but for a small error on his final attempt.
“The first two push laps, honestly, I took it a bit easy,” he explained in the paddock after the session. “And then for the last two push laps, I just wanted to send it. But I made a couple of mistakes, especially on my last push.
“I was only five-hundredths off Slater, which would have put me P3 on the grid. So yeah, good quali overall, but I could have done a bit better.”
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Rivera’s result ensured that all three of Campos’ drivers were inside the top five, continuing the Spanish outfit’s impressive start to the 2026 campaign.
The 17-year-old admits that while the mistake was frustrating, it was a positive day overall as he was able to manage what is always a difficult session around the Principality with relative ease.
He added that the challenge of Monaco was hugely enjoyable, and that things had gone smoothly in his first outing on a Friday in F3 on a race weekend.
“I think that just came from maybe pushing a bit too much. But, mistakes happen, it was good that it was a small mistake, not like putting it in the wall or losing too much time.
“These kinds of mistakes are not too costly. Other than that, the session was quite clean. I didn't have any traffic. Traffic management was very good with my engineer.
“I was a bit nervous going into the session, but as soon as I got into the car and started driving, there was no time to be nervous, you are just super focused.
“It was so fun, especially the last push lap. In my cooldown before the last push, I was thinking I'm going to send it.
“The adrenaline is so high, the concentration is so high because at other tracks, you have a bit of time to relax on the straight and you have a lot of space. Here, it's turn by turn. You are super focused. It's such a good feeling.”
With eyes now focused on the upcoming races, Rivera says that a podium result isn’t out of reach going from the third row of the grid.
He says as long as he can keep himself out of trouble and within DRS range to the cars ahead, anything is possible.
“Obviously, I don't like to be the last driver of my team. But being close to them is good. I'll try to learn as much as possible in the Sprint, see how the DRS can help, even if it's not super powerful here.
“But I'll learn as much as possible for Sunday and hopefully drivers ahead make a mistake or I have a good start and hopefully get a podium.”