Ugo Ugochukwu emerged victorious on Saturday (7) in the main race of the opening round of Formula 3, held at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. The Campos Racing driver overtook his teammate, Theóphile Nael, on the fourth of 23 laps and maintained his lead from then on, securing his first win of the year.
Freddie Slater, driving for Trident, took second place by overtaking Nael in the final laps, finishing just behind Ugochukwu. Taito Kato, with an ART Grand Prix car, completed the podium by benefiting from penalties against Nael and Noah Stromsted. Bruno del Pino, who won the Sprint on Saturday, finished fourth with Van Amersfoort, while Maciej Gladysz, also from ART Grand Prix, finished fifth.
Enzo Deligny crossed the finish line in sixth place with a Van Amersfoort car, while Brad Benavides, from AIX Racing, finished seventh. Brazilian Pedro Clerot scored his first points by finishing eighth with Rodin. Jim Nakamura, from Hitech, and Mattia Colnaghi, from MP Motorsport, completed the top 10. Fernando Barrichello, from AIX Racing, finished 18th.
The race saw the deployment of the Safety Car after Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi lost control of his DAMS car in turn 10 and crashed into the protective barrier. Later, on the 20th lap, the race was neutralized again after an accident involving Woohyun Shin, from Hitech, who also came to a stop on the track.
The F3 series has its second round scheduled for April 10-12 in Bahrain.
