LACORTE WINS AT HOME AS SLATER’S RETIREMENT REOPENS F3 TITLE FIGHT
It was a day of celebration for Nicola Lacorte at Monza. The Italian driver claimed his first FIA Formula 3 victory in front of his home crowd after a strong and controlled Feature Race, becoming the first Italian driver to win an F3 race on home soil. DAMS Lucas Oil also celebrated its first victory in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. Tuukka Taponen finished second, giving MP Motorsport its first podium of the season, while Taito Kato completed the podium after winning Saturday’s Sprint Race.
The race also produced a major twist in the championship battle. Freddie Slater started from pole position with a great opportunity to extend his lead over Ugo Ugochukwu, who had started from the back after his difficult qualifying and a penalty. Instead, Slater’s race gradually fell apart before a mechanical issue forced him into retirement. Ugochukwu recovered from an even worse start to finish eighth and cut the gap to 15 points heading into the final round in Madrid.
Slater made a good start from pole and initially held the lead ahead of Kanato Le and Lacorte. The Italian remained close to the front, while behind them Ugochukwu’s race got off to a terrible start. The Campos Racing driver was hit from behind by his teammate Théophile Nael at Turn 1 and dropped from 19th to 29th position.
The first Safety Car arrived after Fionn McLaughlin’s race ended following contact with Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi. When racing resumed, the battles immediately began. Kato passed Lacorte around the outside at Turn 1, while Le soon used DRS to take the lead away from Slater. Kato followed by moving into third, with Lacorte also beginning his charge through the field.
Lacorte first moved past Slater to take third place before continuing his progress. He overtook Kato for second and then closed on Le. On Lap 10, the DAMS Lucas Oil driver made his decisive move and took the lead of the race. Once in front, the Italian showed strong pace and kept control of the race.
Behind him, Taponen produced one of the best moves of the race. The Ferrari Driver Academy driver passed both ART Grand Prix cars in one move to take second place and began chasing Lacorte. Kato later secured third, while Le remained in the fight near the front.
For Slater, however, the situation was getting worse. The championship leader started losing positions and dropped outside the top 10. He reported a problem with the car before his right-rear tyre eventually came off at the Ascari chicane, forcing him to stop on track and retire. His retirement brought out another Safety Car and completely changed the situation in the title fight.
Ugochukwu had initially been fighting back from the very back of the field after the Lap 1 contact. He steadily recovered positions and, after the final restart, entered the points-paying positions. The American eventually finished eighth, completing an important recovery and taking four points out of Slater’s championship advantage over the Monza weekend.
At the front, Lacorte remained calm after the restart. Taponen stayed close but could not get back within attacking range, while Kato defended his podium position. Yevan David was once again one of the drivers making the biggest recovery, climbing from 17th on the grid to fourth after also producing a strong comeback in Saturday’s Sprint Race. On the final lap, David overtook Le at the final corner to secure fourth place.
Lacorte crossed the line to take an emotional first victory in Formula 3, ahead of Taponen and Kato. David finished fourth, followed by Le, Yamakoshi and Stromsted, while Ugochukwu completed his recovery in eighth. Deligny and Wharton completed the top 10. Lacorte was also the 13th different winner of the 2026 F3 season, setting a new record for the championship.
The championship now heads to Madrid for the final round from September 11 to 13, where an extra race will be held. Slater remains in the lead on 141 points, while Ugochukwu has 126, leaving 15 points between the two title rivals before the final weekend of the season.
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