Theóphile Nael clinched pole position on Friday (11) for the third round of the 2026 Formula 3 season. In the qualifying session held this morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain, the Campos Racing driver, who had already led this morning’s free practice, posted a best lap time of 1:28.263, securing the top spot for Sunday.
The second position went to the championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu, who finished 0.039 seconds behind Nael, his teammate. Hiyu Yamakoshi of Van Amersfoort was third, while Brando Badoer of Rodin Motorsport posted the fourth fastest time. Taito Kato of ART Grand Prix and Bruno Del Pino of Van Amersfoort complete the top six on Sunday’s starting grid.
Ernesto Rivera, in another Campos Racing car, was seventh in qualifying, while Enzo Deligny of Van Amersfoort took eighth. Tuukka Taponen of MP Motorsport was ninth, sharing this row in the main race with Freddie Slater of Trident. James Wharton of Prema will start 11th, and Gerrard Xie of DAMS completes the top 12. The Chinese driver will start at the front in the Sprint due to the inverted grid.
The Brazilian drivers will have to stage comebacks in Barcelona this weekend. Pedro Clerot will start 23rd with a Rodin Motorsport-prepared car, opening the 12th row for both races. Fernando Barrichello, who races for AIX Racing, starts one position behind, 24th, and will line up beside Clerot.
The Formula 3 schedule continues on Saturday (12) with the Sprint race, set for 5:05. The main race is scheduled to start at 3:40 on Sunday.
Barcelona F3 qualifying results:
1st – Theóphile Nael (FRA/Campos Racing) – 1:28.263
2nd – Ugo Ugochukwu (USA/Campos Racing) – 0.039 behind
3rd – Hiyu Yamakoshi (JAP/Van Amersfoort) – 0.135 behind
4th – Brando Badoer (ITA/Rodin) – 0.233 behind
5th – Taito Kato (JAP/ART Grand Prix) – 0.237 behind
6th – Bruno Del Pino (ESP/Van Amersfoort) – 0.358 behind
7th – Ernesto Rivera (MEX/Campos Racing) – 0.365 behind
8th – Enzo Deligny (FRA/Van Amersfoort) – 0.441 behind
9th – Tuukka Taponen (FIN/MP Motorsport) – 0.470 behind
10th – Freddie Slater (ING/Trident) – 0.492 behind
11th – James Wharton (AUS/Prema) – 0.557 behind
12th – Gerrard Xie (CHN/DAMS) – 0.668 behind
13th – Alessandro Giusti (FRA/MP Motorsport) – 0.673 behind
14th – Maciej Gladysz (POL/ART Grand Prix) – 0.699 behind
15th – Kanato Le (JAP/ART Grand Prix) – 0.717 behind
16th – Mattia Colnaghi (ARG/MP Motorsport) – 0.731 behind
17th – Louis Sharp (AUS/Prema) – 0.736 behind
18th – Nicola Lacorte (ITA/DAMS) – 0.842 behind
19th – Matteo De Palo (ITA/Trident) – 0.853 behind
20th – Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (TAI/DAMS) – 0.883 behind
21st – Christian Ho (SIN/Rodin) – 0.924 behind
22nd – Noah Stromsted (DIN/Trident) – 0.941 behind
23rd – Pedro Clerot (BRA/Rodin) – 1.037 behind
24th – Fernando Barrichello (BRA/AIX Racing) – 1.063 behind
25th – Fionn McLaughlin (IRL/Hitech) – 1.191 behind
26th – José Garfias (MEX/Prema) – 1.195 behind
27th – Woohyun Shin (COR/Hitec) – 1.384 behind
28th – Yevan David (SRI/AIX Racing) – 1.556 behind
29th – Ricardo Escotto (MEX/AIX Racing) – 1.593 behind
30th – Jin Nakamura (JAP/Hitech) – 1.641 behind
