Ugo Ugochukwu talks through his maiden F3 victory in Melbourne

It was a measured but mighty performance from Ugo Ugochukwu in Melbourne, as the Campos Racing driver earned his maiden victory in FIA Formula 3 to start 2026 in the strongest possible form.

The American driver was rapid from the green light in Practice, and he was able to manage his weekend effectively to maximise his result, biding his time in the Feature Race en route to the top step.

Speaking on Sunday in Melbourne, the Campos driver explained how he saw the start, why managing was the right move and why he’s not getting carried away after win number one.

“It’s a mega feeling, super happy to get my first win and a really special place to do it as well in Melbourne,” Ugochukwu said. “I've really enjoyed the track ever since the first lap in Practice. I really wanted to get the win.

“The start was very, very sketchy into T1. I thought we may have crashed there. I decided to not take any risk and just fall back to P3.

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“But then pace throughout the first part of the race was really good. So I managed to make pretty easy moves and from there I could manage it pretty well. So it was the perfect start to the season really. But we’ve got to stay focused, keep pushing. There’s a long way to go and I’ll just take it race-by-race.”

Ugochukwu added that his conservative start wasn’t the end of the world, as he felt he had pace in hand to take back the lost positions in the long run.

It turned out to be the correct approach, as he saved the best of his tyres for when he made it into clean air, leaving the rest of his rivals to try and catch him.

“It doesn't matter if I lose a position, I just make sure we can race. I had a decent start, Théo came down to defend from me into T1. And then as I went left, I realised Freddie had an even better start. So, I found myself in the middle of the two.

“It wasn't worth risking a crash first lap of the 23-lap Feature Race. So, it was a good decision to back off and fall into P3 and make my way through later on in the race.

“I think it was a game of trying to make sure your tyres were in good condition for the end. But at the same time, be as quick as possible at the beginning. And I felt I was in a position where my pace was good enough to save the tyres and go for the move without sliding too much.

“I decided to take the lead and manage it from there. And it's always a bit nicer in clean air as well. You can focus on your tyres a bit more.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, the American says that he’s focused on maximising results rather than solely chasing more wins.

From there, he says the team will be able to reap the rewards of their hard work, and on current showing, they look to be the team to beat.

“I think hitting the ground running is super important. I think it just puts us in a good position going for the rest of the championship.

“We know now that in the bad weekends, we need to pick up the points and try to get a few more wins along the way. And we'll see where we end up. I'm sure we're going to be up there fighting for the Championship.”