Optimism in 2026: AIX Racing Season Preview

The building blocks AIX Racing put in place began to pay off as the team achieved poles, points and podiums in just their second campaign in the Championship.

52 points will be the marker to beat in 2026, and the UAE-based outfit looks capable of pushing on this season and doing just that.

Enlisted to help them achieve that goal are three exciting talents in Yevan David, Fernando Barrichello and Brad Benavides.

Ahead of the new season, let’s take a look at what AIX and their new recruits will be targeting this year.

Form to build upon

Sixth, fourth and second was a great start in the opening three rounds in 2025 but the team struggled to keep that form rolling into the middle phase of the year.

There were also the bright spots on Fridays as Benavides secured the top spot in Spa and Monza in Qualifying.

So, the team has proven it has one-lap pace and the ability to fight in the points at the sharp end. Making that a more common occurrence is the big target in 2026.

The team were satisfied with the step they took compared to 2024, and so the same trajectory jump would be a major achievement and take them into contention for regular points finishes.

The team’s preparations for 2026 have been going well so far, and the post-season tests at the end of 2025 showcased the potential that AIX has heading into the new year.

Benavides ended up topping the times on Day 1 in Imola in conditions he seemed to excel in during the racing season.

Carrying their progress on this year will be vital, and the team has a promising line-up to help them achieve just that and fight their way up the F3 order.

An exciting trio for ‘26

Starting out with the returning Benavides, the American driver enjoyed his most successful season in F3 last time around, securing multiple pole positions and taking a step forward in competitiveness across the year.

His impressive Monza pole lap was perhaps his highlight, and his form across the post-season tests suggest that he is well placed to continue in that rich vein of form when we get racing once again in 2026.

Barrichello joined the team for the final round of the 2025 campaign to begin his preparations for this year, so will have built up an understanding of how the team operates on a race weekend.

That could prove important in the early rounds relative to the rookies coming in without any prior experience of their teams and the F3 race weekend format. The Brazilian will have a good benchmark against which to reference courtesy of the experienced Benavides, while he has another rookie alongside him in the garage also.

Sri Lankan driver David arrives in F3 fresh from his finest season in single-seaters so far, finishing as runner-up in the Euroformula Open Championship, narrowly missing out on the title.

His performances in the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy ahead of the 2026 F3 season are also promising, with multiple points finishes in races against rivals he will face this year.

Overall, the team looks set to enter the new season with optimism and a driver line-up that could work well together and aid the team in their efforts of achieving a best-ever finish in the F3 Teams’ Standings.