Finlay McSporran
Published: 12:2 19 July 2026
His teammate Ugochukwu however was less fortunate, with his lead in the standings having been reduced to just one point.
Race Report
Rivera would start the race from fourth on the grid, with Freddie Slater, second in the championship, on pole position.
A nightmare start for Slater saw him crawl off the line, as he went into anti-stall, and would have lost more places had it not been for some aggressive defending.
Instead, he only lost two places, as Tuukka Taponen swept into the lead as the cars made their way through Eau Rouge and up Raidillon. Behind him in the slipstream was Hiyu Yamakoshi, who blasted past and into the lead at the end of the Kemmel straight. Rivera remained in fourth place.
Further behind, championship leaded Ugo Ugochukwu became involved in another lap one incident for the second race running.
His teammate, Theophile Nael, had made contact with Taito Kato damaging his front wing, and as he tried to take the next corner he ran a little wide, which forced Ugochukwu into the gravel.
The AIX of Yevan David was also stuck in the gravel which triggered an early safety car.
Racing resumed on lap four, but it wasn’t until lap seven when Slater began to make his way back up the order, as he re-took second off Taponen into the Le Combes chicane.
Slater then repeated the move the next lap to move into the lead, demoting Yamakoshi to second.
He wasn’t the only one of the move however, as Rivera lunged down the inside of Taponen on lap 10 of 15. The Mexican driver was carrying so much overspeed that he clipped the rear of Yamakoshi, damaging his front wing.
Undeterred, Rivera pushed on. Just one lap later he passed Yamakoshi, and was now lining up a move on race leader Slater who, if the race finished in that order, would take the lead in the standings.
But it wasn’t to be for him, as on lap 12 Rivera blasted past him and disappeared in front, as Yamakoshi also got passed.
The only saving grace was the fact that his rival Ugochukwu was having it even worse. The American was tumbling down the order and out of the points after showing decent pace early on.
But it was Rivera who stole the headlines.
On a day where the big two struggled, the Mexican, who missed the first round of the season through injury, showed everyone what he was all about, and why Redbull put their faith in him.
Yamakoshi took his second podium of the season with P2, which moves him up to seventh in the standings.
Third place may seem a little disappointing for Slater given that he started on pole, however it’s a big result in the context of the championship. With Ugochukwu not scoring points, he reduces the deficit in the standings from 18 points to just one with three rounds to go.
It also means he’s gone another weekend without winning, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. His consistency is what’s been keeping him in this title fight, recording a podium in every round so far.
It’s reminiscent of Leonardo Fornaroli’s title winning F3 campaign from two years ago, where he also went a full season without winning, and yet, managed to secure the title through consistently being towards the front of the grid.
Provisional Race Result:
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernesto Rivera | Campos | |
| 2 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | Van Amersfoort | +1.6 |
| 3 | Freddie Slater | Trident | +4.4 |
| 4 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | +4.9 |
| 5 | Maciej Gladysz | ART | +5.3 |
| 6 | Taito Kato | ART | +7.8 |
| 7 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | +9.0 |
| 8 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech | +9.3 |
| 9 | Alessandro Guisti | MP Motorsport | +10.6 |
| 10 | Brando Badoer | Rodin | +11.1 |
| 11 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | +12.5 |
| 12 | Nicola Lacorte | Dams | +12.8 |
| 13 | Bruno Del Pino | Van Amersfoort | +13.4 |
| 14 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin | +14.1 |
| 15 | Fionn Mclaughlin | Hitech | +14.6 |
| 16 | Theophile Nael | Campos | +17.5 |
| 17 | Louis Sharp | Prema | +19.5 |
| 18 | James Wharton | Prema | +22.1 |
| 19 | Ricardo Escotto | AIX | +22.7 |
| 20 | Kanato Le | ART | +23.1 |
| 21 | Cian Shields | Hitech | +24.4 |
| 22 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos | +24.9 |
| 23 | Gerrard Xie | Dams | +25.0 |
| 24 | Jose Garfias | Prema | +27.5 |
| 25 | Enzo Deligny | Van Amersfoort | +29.0 |
| 26 | Christian Ho | Rodin | +32.1 |
| 27 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX | DNF |
| 28 | Matteo De Palo | Tridnent | DNF |
| 29 | Yevan David | AIX | DNF |
| 30 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | Dams | DNS |
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