Ernesto Rivera triumphed in the early hours of Sunday (the 19th) in the main race of the sixth round of the 2026 Formula 3 season, held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The Campos Racing driver started from fourth on the grid and moved into the lead only on lap 12 of the 15-lap race by overtaking Freddie Slater, clinching the victory.
The runner-up spot went to Hiyu Yamakoshi, driving for Van Amersfoort, who finished 1.6 seconds behind Rivera. Slater, who started on pole with a Trident, completed the podium in third place, followed by Mattia Colnaghi in fourth for Van Amersfoort. The top five was rounded out by Maciej Gladysz, in a car for ART Grand Prix.
Taito Kato, representing ART Grand Prix, completed the race in sixth place, ahead of Tuukka Taponen, seventh with MP Motorsport. Sprint winner Jin Nakamura finished eighth for Hitech, while Alessandro Giusti of MP Motorsport took ninth. The points-scoring zone was completed by Brando Badoer, tenth for Rodin Motorsport.
The race for the Brazilian drivers on the Formula 3 grid was one to forget. Pedro Clerot, who started from seventh, lost several positions at the start and, despite attempts to recover, crossed the finish line in 14th place with Rodin Motorsport. Fernando Barrichello retired from the race due to problems with his AIX Racing car.
The Spa-Francorchamps event featured a Safety Car deployment. Right at the first lap, Yevan David stopped in the gravel with the AIX Racing car, forcing him to retire. The driver who kept going to the end but finished in 21st place was Ugo Ugochukwu, who had reached tenth with Campos Racing before slipping back in the second half of the race.
The 2026 Formula 3 season will resume next weekend with the Hungarian round scheduled for the Hungaroring circuit.
