The Formula 3 series took to the track in the early hours of this Saturday (12) for the final Sprint race of the 2026 season, scheduled at the Madring circuit located in Madrid, Spain. The grid, calculated with the inversion of the top 12 from the qualifying session held this afternoon, will see James Wharton, the Australian driver for Prema, on pole position for the sprint race.
The second position on the grid will belong to Theóphile Nael, Campos Racing driver completing the front row. Alex Powell, from Prema, starts third, followed by Bruno del Pino in fourth with a Van Amersfoort car. The group of the five best on the sprint grid in the Spanish capital also includes Alessandro Giusti of MP Motorsport.
The two title contenders start from markedly different positions. Ugo Ugochukwu begins from ninth on the grid with the Campos Racing car, putting him inside the points zone. Meanwhile, Freddie Slater, the championship leader, is only 17th on the grid with the Trident for both the sprint race and the first main race, also scheduled for Saturday.
Brazilian drivers also occupy notably different positions on the Sprint grid. Pedro Clerot will start 11th, one place outside the points, with the Rodin Motorsport car, while Fernando Barrichello begins the race from 25th on the grid with AIX Racing.
The Madrid round’s Sprint race of the F3 has its start at 6:05 a.m.
Check the starting grid:
1st – James Wharton (AUS/Prema)
2nd – Theóphile Nael (FRA/Campos Racing)
3rd – Alex Powell (USA/Prema)
4th – Bruno del Pino (ESP/Van Amersfoort)
5th – Alessandro Giusti (FRA/MP Motorsport)
6th – Ernesto Rivera (MEX/Campos Racing)
7th – Jin Nakamura (JAP/Hitech)
8th – Enzo Deligny (FRA/Van Amersfoort)
9th – Ugo Ugochukwu (USA/Campos Racing)
10th – Tuukka Taponen (FIN/MP Motorsport)
11th – Pedro Clerot (BRA/Rodin Motorsport)
12th – Taito Kato (JAP/ART Grand Prix)
13th – Matteo De Palo (ITA/Trident)
14th – Fionn McLaughlin (IRL/Hitech)
15th – Yevan David (SRI/AIX Racing)
16th – Mattia Colnaghi (ARG/MP Motorsport)
17th – Freddie Slater (ING/Trident)
18th – Hiyu Yamakoshi (JAP/Van Amersfoort)
19th – Maciej Gladysz (POL/ART Grand Prix)
20th – Kanato Le (JAP/ART Grand Prix)
21st – Nicola Lacorte (ITA/DAMS)
22nd – Brando Badoer (ITA/Rodin Motorsport)
23rd – José Garfías (MEX/Prema)
24º – WooHyun Shin (COR/Hitech)
25º – Fernando Barrichello (BRA/AIX Racing)
26th – Noah Stromsted (NOR/Trident)
27th – Niccolò Maccagnani (ITA/Rodin Motorsport)
28th – Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (TAI/DAMS)
