2026 Melbourne Formula 3 round

  2026 Melbourne Formula 3 round

Round details
Round 1 of 10 in the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Location	Albert Park Circuit Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Course	Temporary street circuit 5.278 km (3.280 mi)
Sprint Race
Date 7 March 2026 Laps 7 [a] Podium First Bruno del Pino Van Amersfoort Racing Second Enzo Deligny Van Amersfoort Racing Third Brando Badoer Rodin Motorsport Fastest lap Driver Louis Sharp [b] Prema Racing Time 1:37.955 (on lap 4)
Feature Race
Date 8 March 2026 Laps 23 Pole position Driver Théophile Naël Campos Racing Time 1:34.187 Podium First Ugo Ugochukwu Campos Racing Second Freddie Slater Trident Third Taito Kato ART Grand Prix Fastest lap Driver Bruno del Pino Van Amersfoort Racing Time 1:37.336 (on lap 5)

The 2026 Melbourne FIA Formula 3 round was a motor racing event held between 6 and 8 March 2026 at the Albert Park Circuit. It was the opening round of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship and was held in support of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.

Classification

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 6 March 2026, at 14:00 local time (UTC+11).

Pos.	No.	Driver	Entrant	Time/Gap	Grid SR	Grid FR
1	1	Théophile Naël	Campos Racing	1:34.187	12	1
2	2	Ugo Ugochukwu	Campos Racing	+0.021	11	2
3	5	Freddie Slater	Trident	+0.082	10	3
4	11	Maciej Gładysz	ART Grand Prix	+0.267	9	4
5	29	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS Lucas Oil	+0.346	8	5
6	7	Mattia Colnaghi	MP Motorsport	+0.360	7	6
7	10	Taito Kato	ART Grand Prix	+0.425	6	7
8	21	James Wharton	Prema Racing	+0.434	5	8
9	18	Brando Badoer	Rodin Motorsport	+0.438	4	9
10	4	Noah Strømsted	Trident	+0.451	3	10
11	15	Enzo Deligny	Van Amersfoort Racing	+0.457	2	11
12	16	Bruno del Pino	Van Amersfoort Racing	+0.461	1	12
13	20	Louis Sharp	Prema Racing	+0.499	13	13
14	8	Tuukka Taponen	MP Motorsport	+0.554	14	14
15	25	Jin Nakamura	Hitech	+0.572	15	15
16	9	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport	+0.630	16	16
17	31	Gerrard Xie	DAMS Lucas Oil	+0.673	17	17
18	24	Fionn McLaughlin	Hitech	+0.687	18	18
19	17	Pedro Clerot	Rodin Motorsport	+0.692	19	19
20	26	Brad Benavides	AIX Racing	+0.746	20	20
21	19	Christian Ho	Rodin Motorsport	+0.760	21	21
22	14	Hiyu Yamakoshi	Van Amersfoort Racing	+0.768	22	22
23	3	Patrick Heuzenroeder	Campos Racing	+0.969	23	23
24	22	José Garfias	Prema Racing	+1.120	24	24
25	27	Yevan David	AIX Racing	+1.544	25	25
26	12	Kanato Le	ART Grand Prix	+1.608	26	26
27	23	Michael Shin	Hitech	+1.633	27	27
28	30	Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi	DAMS Lucas Oil	+1.974	28	28
29	28	Fernando Barrichello	AIX Racing	+2.295	29	29
107% time: 1:40.780 (+6.593)
—	6	Matteo De Palo	Trident	+27.548	30 1	30 1
Source: [1]

Notes:

• ^1 – Matteo De Palo failed to set a time within the 107%-mark after his fastest lap time was deleted due to him being the sole cause of a red flag during qualifying. He was given permission from the stewards to start both races at the back of the grid. ^[2]

Sprint race

The sprint race was held on 7 March 2026, at 11:15 local time (UTC+11). Originally scheduled for 20 laps, the race was red-flagged on lap eight due to James Wharton and Louis Sharp colliding, with the results taken from lap seven. As more than 25% but less than 50% of the scheduled race distance was completed, reduced points were awarded to the top five finishers. ^[3]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Entrant	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	16	Bruno del Pino	Van Amersfoort Racing	7	11:35.440	1	5
2	15	Enzo Deligny	Van Amersfoort Racing	7	+1.381	2	4
3	18	Brando Badoer	Rodin Motorsport	7	+2.712	4	3
4	4	Noah Strømsted	Trident	7	+3.307	3	2
5	10	Taito Kato	ART Grand Prix	7	+4.734	6	1
6	11	Maciej Gładysz	ART Grand Prix	7	+5.857	9
7	21	James Wharton	Prema Racing	7	+7.579	5
8	2	Ugo Ugochukwu	Campos Racing	7	+9.562	11
9	5	Freddie Slater	Trident	7	+11.274	10
10	1	Théophile Naël	Campos Racing	7	+12.789	12
11	29	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS Lucas Oil	7	+13.160	8
12	8	Tuukka Taponen	MP Motorsport	7	+13.675	14
13	25	Jin Nakamura	Hitech	7	+14.282	15
14	17	Pedro Clerot	Rodin Motorsport	7	+14.693	19
15	24	Fionn McLaughlin	Hitech	7	+16.239	18
16	20	Louis Sharp	Prema Racing	7	+17.743 1	13
17	26	Brad Benavides	AIX Racing	7	+18.894	20
18	19	Christian Ho	Rodin Motorsport	7	+19.404	21
19	31	Gerrard Xie	DAMS Lucas Oil	7	+20.766	17
20	14	Hiyu Yamakoshi	Van Amersfoort Racing	7	+21.740	22
21	9	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport	7	+22.296	16
22	27	Yevan David	AIX Racing	7	+22.620	25
23	3	Patrick Heuzenroeder	Campos Racing	7	+23.040	23
24	22	José Garfias	Prema Racing	7	+23.413	24
25	23	Michael Shin	Hitech	7	+23.914	27
26	6	Matteo De Palo	Trident	7	+24.652	30
27	28	Fernando Barrichello	AIX Racing	7	+25.257	29
28	12	Kanato Le	ART Grand Prix	7	+25.756	26
29	30	Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi	DAMS Lucas Oil	7	+26.105	28
30	7	Mattia Colnaghi	MP Motorsport	7	+30.694	7
Fastest lap: Louis Sharp (1:37.955 on lap 4) 2
Source: [4]

Notes:

• ^1 – Louis Sharp received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Prema Racing teammate James Wharton. This demoted him from 8th to 16th. ^[5]
• ^2 – Louis Sharp set the fastest lap and would have scored the point for it, but later received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision. This dropped him out of the top ten, making him ineligible to score the point. James Wharton would have scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten, but as less than 50% of the scheduled race distance was completed, he was not awarded the point for it.

Feature race

The feature race was held on 8 March 2026, at 08:50 local time (UTC+11).

Pos.	No.	Driver	Entrant	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	2	Ugo Ugochukwu	Campos Racing	23	42:59.653	2	25
2	5	Freddie Slater	Trident	23	+0.693	3	18
3	10	Taito Kato	ART Grand Prix	23	+2.272	7	15
4	16	Bruno del Pino	Van Amersfoort Racing	23	+2.716	11	12+1
5	11	Maciej Gładysz	ART Grand Prix	23	+3.253	4	10
6	15	Enzo Deligny	Van Amersfoort Racing	23	+3.576	10	8
7	26	Brad Benavides	AIX Racing	23	+4.716	18	6
8	17	Pedro Clerot	Rodin Motorsport	23	+4.963	17	4
9	25	Jin Nakamura	Hitech	23	+5.346	13	2
10	7	Mattia Colnaghi	MP Motorsport	23	+5.784	6	1
11	14	Hiyu Yamakoshi	Van Amersfoort Racing	23	+5.983	20
12	1	Théophile Naël	Campos Racing	23	+6.290 1	1
13	8	Tuukka Taponen	MP Motorsport	23	+6.529	12
14	24	Fionn McLaughlin	Hitech	23	+6.802	16
15	9	Alessandro Giusti	MP Motorsport	23	+7.218	14
16	18	Brando Badoer	Rodin Motorsport	23	+7.778	8
17	3	Patrick Heuzenroeder	Campos Racing	23	+8.483	21
18	28	Fernando Barrichello	AIX Racing	23	+8.836	27
19	31	Gerrard Xie	DAMS Lucas Oil	23	+9.401	15
20	27	Yevan David	AIX Racing	23	+9.977	23
21	19	Christian Ho	Rodin Motorsport	23	+10.473	19
22	6	Matteo De Palo	Trident	23	+11.182	28
23	4	Noah Strømsted	Trident	23	+11.621 2	9
24	22	José Garfias	Prema Racing	23	+11.871	22
25	29	Nicola Lacorte	DAMS Lucas Oil	23	+19.142 3	5
DNF	23	Michael Shin	Hitech	19	Suspension	25
DNF	30	Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi	DAMS Lucas Oil	7	Accident	26
DNF	12	Kanato Le	ART Grand Prix	1		24
WD	20	Louis Sharp	Prema Racing	0	Withdrawn 4
WD	21	James Wharton	Prema Racing	0	Withdrawn 4
Fastest lap: Bruno del Pino (1:37.336 on lap 5)
Source: [6]

Notes:

• ^1 – Théophile Naël received a five-second time penalty for a false start. ^[7]
• ^2 – Noah Strømsted was given a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Nicola Lacorte. ^[8]
• ^3 – Nicola Lacorte was handed a five-second time penalty for a false start. After the race, Lacorte also received a ten-second time penalty for failing to activate the start set-up procedure. This demoted him from 19th to 25th. ^{[9] [10]}
• ^4 – After colliding in the sprint race, Prema Racing teammates Louis Sharp and James Wharton both withdrew from the feature race. ^[11]

Standings after the event

Drivers' Championship standings [12] Pos. Driver Points 1 Ugo Ugochukwu 25 2 Bruno del Pino 18 3 Freddie Slater 18 4 Taito Kato 16 5 Enzo Deligny 12

Teams' Championship standings [13] Pos. Team Points 1 Van Amersfoort Racing 30 2 Campos Racing 27 3 ART Grand Prix 26 4 Trident 20 5 Rodin Motorsport 7

Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

• 2026 Australian Grand Prix
• 2026 Melbourne Formula 2 round

Notes

1. Originally scheduled for 20 laps, the race was red flagged and not resumed on the eighth lap after James Wharton and Louis Sharp collided.
2. Louis Sharp set the fastest lap and would have scored the point for it, but later received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision. This dropped him out of the top ten, making him ineligible to score the point. James Wharton would have scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten, but as less than 50% of the scheduled race distance was completed, he was not awarded the point for it.

References

1. "Doc 18 - F3 Qualifying - Final classification" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 6 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
2. "Doc 16 - INFRINGEMENT - Car 6 - Cause of Red Flag in Qualifying" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 6 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
3. "SPRINT RACE: Del Pino leads home Deligny for VAR 1-2 after Red Flag". FIA Formula 3. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
4. "Doc 29 - F3 Race 1 (Sprint) - Final classification" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 7 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
5. "Louis Sharp handed post-Sprint Race penalty". FIA Formula 3. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
6. "Doc 40 - F3 Race 2 (Feature) - Final classification" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
7. "Doc 34 - INFRINGEMENT - Car 1 - False start" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
8. "Doc 37 - INFRINGEMENT - Car 4 - Causing a collision" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
9. "Doc 35 - INFRINGEMENT - Car 29 - False start" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
10. "Nicola Lacorte penalised following Melbourne Feature Race". FIA Formula 3. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
11. "Sharp and Wharton withdraw from Melbourne Event". FIA Formula 3. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
12. "Doc 41 - F3 Driver championship - Melbourne 2026" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
13. "Doc 42 - F3 Team championship - Melbourne 2026" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.

External links

• Official website

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