Ugo Ugochukwu claimed his maiden victory in FIA Formula 3 with a dominant drive in the Melbourne Feature Race.
The Campos Racing driver recovered from a slow start, which dropped to third, to win the race ahead of TRIDENT’s Freddie Slater. ART Grand Prix driver Taito Kato took the final spot on the podium after Théophile Nael and Noah Stromsted both received time penalties.
AS IT HAPPENED
Polesitter Nael kept the lead into Turn 1, while Slater got ahead of Ugochukwu to take second place at the opening corner.
Slater’s strong opening lap continued as he tried to go around the outside of Nael at Turn 3 only for the Campos driver to shut the door.
Kato was also on the move for ART Grand Prix, as he managed to make a move around the outside of TRIDENT’s Stromsted at the penultimate corner for P8.
On to Lap 2, Ugochukwu was within one second of Slater and overtook his rival at Turn 9 to get back to P2.
Ugochukwu then closed in on Nael rapidly after and once again made a move at Turn 9, this time to take the lead of the race.
Just behind them, Kato and Mattia Colnaghi went side-by-side through Turns 9 and 10, with the ART driver taking P7.
Out in front, the top three had separated themselves and were two seconds clear of Maciej Gladysz at the start of Lap 8.
Brando Badoer and Nicola Lacorte had been battling for P5 with the former having lost the place to the DAMS Lucas Oil driver earlier in the lap. As he looked to regain the position, he spun at the final corner, dropping him down to P12.
Slater’s good start saw him get ahead of Ugochukwu to take P2 on the opening lap
The Safety Car was then called upon on Lap 9 with Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi having found the barrier at Turn 12.
Racing resumed at the start of Lap 12, and Ugochukwu pulled out a 1.1s gap to Nael, who was coming under pressure from Slater after running wide at the exit of Turn 4.
The Campos driver was holding on to P2, but Gladysz lost P4 to Lacorte at Turn 9, while Bruno del Pino was up eighth ahead of Colnaghi after making a move at the same corner.
Lacorte was charging towards the podium and was right on the back of Slater at the start of Lap 15, and before taking P3 on the brakes at Turn 12.
Moments later, Nael was given a five-second time penalty for a false start.
Slater though was struggling on Lap 16, coming under pressure from his teammate Stromsted, who had just overtaken Gladysz for P5 at Turn 12.
Lacorte’s hopes of a podium were damaged on the next lap, losing out to Slater, before contact with Stromsted gave him front wing damage. The Stewards then handed the DAMS driver a five-second penalty for a false start, while Stromsted was later handed a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with the Italian.
Slater had recovered things nicely and was within 0.5s of Nael for P2 by the start of Lap 20. The TRIDENT driver used the DRS to overtake the Frenchman at Turn 9 to get up to second.
Just as Nael was fighting Stromsted for the final spot on the podium, the Safety Car was called upon with Woohyun Shin having pulled over at the side of the road with rear suspension damage at Turn 6.
The top three celebrate on the podium after the Feature Rae
The track could not be cleared in time for a restart, with the race ending under Safety Car conditions, leaving Ugochukwu to take a first victory in F3 ahead of Slater. With Nael and Stromsted’s penalties taking effect, Kato inherited P3.
Del Pino followed his Sprint Race victory with a run to P4 ahead of Gladysz and Enzo Deligny. Brad Benavides was seventh for AIX Racing ahead of Pedro Clerot and Jin Nakamura, with Colnaghi in 10th.
KEY QUOTE – Ugo Ugochukwu, Campos Racing
“The Feature Race done here in Melbourne, managed to come away with a win, so super pleased, my first win in F3. It’s been a perfect start to the season, we have been quick all weekend. P2 of the line, fell back a little at the start but managed to make my way back through to the lead and from there I had a nice gap until the last Safety Car. Super happy and thank you to the whole team.”
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Campos Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu leads the Drivers’ Championship after Round 1 with 25 points, ahead of Freddie Slater and Bruno del Pino, who both have 18 points. Taito Kato is fourth with16 points, while Enzo Deligny is fifth on 12.
In the Teams’ Standings, Van Amersfoort Racing lead the way with 30 points, ahead of second placed Campos Racing on 27 points and ART Grand Prix on 26. TRIDENT are fourth with 20 points, while Rodin Motorsport round out the top five.
