Back in action after nearly three months without races, Formula 3 visits the street circuit laid out in Monte Carlo, Monaco, this weekend. And after the first practice session, Friday (the 5th) will be reserved for qualifying that will determine the starting grid positions for the two races of the second round of the 2026 season, with a different qualifying format.
Just like in Formula 2, Formula 3’s qualifying will see the drivers split into two groups, each consisting of 15 drivers. The measure aims to reduce traffic during the session. Each group will have 16 minutes of track time, with the first wave of drivers running cars with even numbers, and the second with odd numbers.
After both groups have completed their runs, the fastest driver will start from pole position, with the fastest from the other group taking second. This will also set the starting positions for the remaining competitors. Those in the pole group will occupy the odd-numbered places, while the rest will take the even positions.
If in Formula 2 the Sprint reverse-grid takes the top ten fastest into account, in Formula 3 the swap of positions considers the top 12. Thus, in Monaco, the first place on the sprint race grid will be awarded to the sixth-fastest from the group that lost Sunday’s pole position, with the inversion starting from that position and extending to the overall fastest, who starts 12th.
The qualifying that will determine the starting positions for the two Formula 3 races in Monaco is scheduled for 06:05 this Friday.
See how the driver groups were formed for Formula 3 qualifying in Monaco:
Group 1
Ugo Ugochukwu (USA/Campos Racing)
Noah Stromsted (NOR/Trident)
Matteo De Palo (ITA/Trident)
Tuukka Taponen (FIN/MP Motorsport)
Taiyto Kato (JPN/ART Grand Prix)
Kanato Le (JPN/ART Grand Prix)
Hyiu Yamakoshi (JPN/Van Amersfoort)
Bruno del Pino (ESP/Van Amersfoort)
Brando Badoer (ITA/Rodin)
Louis Sharp (AUS/Prema)
José Garfias (MEX/Prema)
Fionn McLaughlin (IRL/Hitech)
Brad Benavides (AIX Racing)
Fernando Barrichello (BRA/AIX Racing)
Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (TAI/DAMS)
Group 2
Theóphile Nael (FRA/Campos Racing)
Ernesto Rivera (MEX/Campos Racing)
Freddie Slater (ING/Trident)
Mattia Colnaghi (ARG/MP Motorsport)
Alessandro Giusti (FRA/MP Motorsport)
Maciej Gladysz (POL/ART Grand Prix)
Enzo Deligny (FRA/Van Amersfoort)
Pedro Clerot (BRA/Rodin)
Christian Ho (SIN/Rodin)
James Wharton (AUS/Prema)
Woohyun Shin (COR/Hitech)
Jin Nakamura (JPN/Hitech)
Yevan David (SRI/AIX Racing)
Nicola Lacorte (ITA/DAMS)
Gerrard Xie (CHN/DAMS)
