Campos Racing’s Théophile Naël topped the timesheets in the opening F3 Qualifying session for the 2026 Australian GP, beating teammate Ugo Ugochukwu, who dominated the earlier Free Practice. The session began with 28 of the 30 drivers taking to the track, but Fernando Barrichello and Yevan David opted for a later start. MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen initially set the benchmark at 1:52.527, though rapid improvements quickly followed, with Ugochukwu claiming P1 with a 1:34.208, 0.4 seconds ahead of Trident’s Noah Strømsted.
However, track limits became an issue, with several drivers, including Campos’ Théophile Naël, falling foul of the rules, especially in the first sector. A Red Flag was brought out with just over 20 minutes remaining after Matteo De Palo crashed at Turn 10, leaving his Trident car damaged and his time compromised. His fastest time was deleted, and as his time fell outside of the 107% of the fastest lap time, he is set to start at the rear of the grid for both the Sprint and Feature Races.
Following the restart, the drivers ramped up their efforts. Ugochukwu, despite sustaining front wing damage at Turn 6, still managed to maintain a strong pace. Strømsted ran wide at Turn 4, losing his time, while MP Motorsport’s Mattia Colnaghi struggled to improve his Sector 1 time. Naël, who had also lost time earlier due to track limits, capitalised on a clearer track to move into P4.
In the final moments, Naël set a lap of 1:34.187 to claim pole, while Ugochukwu secured P2 with a 1:34.208. F3 newcomer Freddie Slater improved to P3, and ART Grand Prix’s Maciej Gładysz finished fourth. Naël’s pole position marks a strong start to his 2026 Australian GP.
2026 F3 Australian GP | Qualifying results
- T. Naël – 1:34.187
- U. Ugochukwu – 1:34.208
- F. Slater – 1:34.269
- M. Gładysz – 1:34.454
- N. Lacorte – 1:34.533
- M. Colnaghi – 1:34.547
- T. Kato – 1:34.612
- J. Wharton – 1:34.621
- B. Badoer – 1:34.625
- N. Strømsted – 1:34.638
- E. Deligny – 1:34.644
- B. del Pino – 1:34.648
- L. Sharp – 1:34.666
- T. Taponen – 1:34.741
- J. Nakamura – 1:34.749
- A. Giusti – 1:34.817
- G. Xie – 1:34.860
- F. McLaughlin – 1:34.874
- P. Clerot – 1:34.874
- B. Benavides – 1:34.933
- C. Ho – 1:34.947
- H. Yamakoshi – 1:34.955
- P. Heuzeroeder – 1:35.156
- J. Garfias – 1:35.307
- Y. David – 1:35.731
- K. Le – 1:35.795
- M. Shin – 1:35.820
- N. Bhirombhakdi – 1:36.161
- F. Barrichello – 1:36.482
Not Classified – M. De Palo 2:01.735
