FEATURE RACE 2: Taponen wins as Ugochukwu seals 2026 Drivers' title

Tuukka Taponen was victorious in Madrid for MP Motorsport, winning the second Feature Race of the weekend as Ugo Ugochukwu secured the 2026 Drivers' Championship in P2 to become the first F3 Champion from the United States.

The Finn led every lap en route to the top step of the podium, with Ugochukwu remaining close and adding another podium to his record to seal the title. Rodin Motorsport's Pedro Clerot rounded out the podium in third position.

AS IT HAPPENED

Taponen covered off Ugochukwu immediately at Turn 1 and he retained the lead over the Campos Racing driver. Freddie Slater dropped a place to Yevan David on the run to Turn 5 to make his road to the title tougher.

With DRS enabled on Lap 3, David looked to make a move on Enzo Deligny at Turn 5 but couldn't get through, offering a brief chance for Slater to look at the AIX Racing driver into Turn 7, ultimately falling back into line in ninth.

Slater was on the attack on Lap 5, and he rounded the Sri Lankan into Turn 2 to take eighth.

Up ahead, Ugochuwku was content to sit within a second of the race leader and keep Clerot behind in third.

Lap 10 and Slater was onto the back of Deligny and tried an audacious look into Turn 7, but the Van Amersfoort Racing driver was able to remain ahead.

With the laps ticking by, Slater was looking to get creative and shaped for a move into Turn 13, but once again found the door shut.

Taito Kato was looking to round out his season with another podium, and was close to Clerot in the battle for third. A big lock-up into Turn 17 almost left the Japanese driver sailing into the back of the Rodin, but he managed to avoid a collision and continued in fourth.

David was relegated to 10th after a big slide at Turn 18 allowed Ernesto Rivera to capitalise and take ninth in the Campos on Lap 16.

Hiyu Yamakoshi came to a halt with three laps remaining, bringing out the Safety Car. The marshals were able to recover the Van Amersfoort Racing car in time to leave us with a one-lap shootout for the victory and the '26 title.

Taponen got a good restart and led the pack onto the final lap with a comfortable lead over Ugochuwku, who had Clerot for close company.

Despite the late drama, Taponen had control of the race and secured his maiden win in FIA Formula 3 in the final race of the year.

Ugochukwu crossed the line in P2 to claim the Drivers' Championship and complete his comeback in the title race, while Clerot completed the podium in third.

Kato was fourth ahead of Mattia Colnaghi, Alessandro Giusti, Deligny and Slater, who finished eighth. Rivera and David rounded out the final top 10 of the season.

KEY QUOTE – Ugo Ugochukwu, Campos Racing

“We did it, FIA F3 Champions! Super, super happy and I can't thank the team enough for an amazing year. Today was not a bad race with P2. We knew we just had to keep it clean to clinch the title, and that's what we did. No mistakes, brought it home and super pleased."

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Ugo Ugochukwu is the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Drivers' Champion, finishing on 159 points. Freddie Slater winds up second in the Standings on 145 points. Tuukka Taponen's win lifts the Finn up to third in the Championship ahead of Taito Kato in fourth, 109 points to 105. Théophile Nael finishes fifth on countback ahead of Pedro Clerot on 88 points each, and the top five drivers that graduate up to FIA Formula 2 in 2027 will receive prize money ahead of the next step in their careers.

Campos Racing are 2026 Teams' Champions already, with the team's final total standing at 334 points. TRIDENT finish second on 217, while MP Motorsport jump up to third and 208 points, ahead of ART Grand Prix in fourth on 189. Van Amersfoort Racing complete the top five with 168 points.

UP NEXT

We have reached the end of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 campaign. Keep up to date with the latest news, interviews and events via the official website and social media channels.