The Japanese driver Taito Kato won in the early hours of Saturday (the 5th) the Sprint of the penultimate round of the 2026 Formula 3 season, held at the Monza National Autodrome in Italy. In one of the most action-packed races, the ART Grand Prix driver seized the lead in the closing laps and withstood attacks from Freddie Slater to claim victory after the 18 laps around the Italian circuit.
Second place went to Slater, a Trident driver who clinched pole for Sunday’s race and who started from 12th on this early hour, carving his way through the pack. Hiyu Yamakoshi, from Van Amersfoort, completed the podium in third, finishing ahead of Yevan David, fourth with AIX Racing. Alessandro Giusti, who fought for the victory throughout the race, finished fifth for MP Motorsport.
Mattia Colnaghi crossed the finish line in sixth place in an MP Motorsport car, ahead of Ernesto Rivera, seventh with Campos Racing. Enzo Deligny, the Van Amersfoort driver, finished eighth, while Nicola Lacorte of DAMS was ninth. The points-scoring zone was completed by Bruno Del Pino, in a Van Amersfoort-prepared car. Championship second-placed driver Ugo Ugoochukwu finished 14th for Campos Racing.
The race featured several full-course cautions over its 18 laps. The first came when Fernando Barrichello collided after Brando Badoer attempted to defend his position and forced the AIX Racing Brazilian onto the grass, causing the incident on lap four and bringing out the Safety Car. On lap eight, Maciej Gladysz was bumped and touched the ART Grand Prix car. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed.
After the Sprint, F3 returns to Monza on the early hours of Sunday (the 6th), with a start scheduled for 3:15 a.m.
