F3 Belgium Wrap; title rivals collide, Nakamura’s first win & Rivera charges to Feature victory

• Freddie Slater reduced Ugo Ugochukwu’s F3 championship lead to just one point after the title rivals collided and both retired from the Belgium Sprint before Slater recovered with a Feature Race podium.
• Ernesto Rivera claimed his second Feature Race victory of the season, while Jin Nakamura secured his maiden Formula 3 win in the Sprint to give Hitech its first victory of 2026.
• With only three rounds remaining, the Formula 3 title fight is finely poised after Ugochukwu’s first pointless weekend of the season dramatically tightened the championship battle.

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Title rivals collide

Spa-Francorchamps provided a major flashpoint in the Formula 3 championship battle, as Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater came to blows during Saturday’s Sprint race.

The title contenders started ninth and eighth respectively on the reverse grid, ultimately making contact and ending up in the gravel on the opening lap.

Slater became beached in the gravel and was immediately out of the race, while Ugochukwu suffered suspension damage and was also forced to retire despite attempting to rejoin before the Safety Car was deployed.

In what proved to be the championship leader’s worst weekend of the season, Ugochukwu also failed to score in the Feature Race, while Slater recovered to claim a crucial podium finish.

Back-to-back poles for Slater

Before his clash with Ugochukwu in the Sprint, Briton Slater secured his second consecutive pole position in a qualifying session disrupted by rain and a red flag.

Setting a 2:05.150 on his first flying lap, the Trident driver outqualified Tuukka Taponen and Hiyu Yamakoshi.

Yamakoshi was later involved in the incident that brought out the red flag with 10 minutes remaining. Noah Strømsted collected Yevan David, who then concertinaed into José Garfias and the Japanese driver.

In what proved to be a costly weekend for the American, Ugochukwu qualified only ninth and was unable to make the most of the reverse-grid format in the Sprint.

Nakamura wins maiden F3 Sprint

While the Ugochukwu-Slater collision dominated the headlines on Saturday, Jin Nakamura’s maiden Formula 3 victory was another standout moment, with the Japanese driver delivering Hitech its first win of the season.

Starting from the second row, Nakamura dispatched Mattia Colnaghi before drag-racing Pedro Clerot down the Kemmel Straight to snatch second place into Les Combes.

Brando Badoer initially led from reverse-grid pole until the Safety Car restart following the incident involving the championship rivals. The Italian then lost the lead as Nakamura completed another overtake from Eau Rouge to Les Combes.

Rodin teammates Badoer and Clerot completed the podium ahead of Colnaghi and Taito Kato, after the field negotiated another Safety Car period when DAMS driver Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi collected a polystyrene marker board at La Source.

Rivera charges to Feature win

Ernesto Rivera claimed his second victory of the season with another impressive drive in Sunday’s Feature Race.

Biding his time after starting fourth, the Mexican made his move midway through the race to beat Yamakoshi and title contender Slater.

Slater made a poor getaway from pole position, allowing Taponen to lead the field into the opening corner.

The lead changed again into Les Combes, with Yamakoshi slipstreaming past the Finn down the Kemmel Straight.

Following a Safety Car triggered after David ran off the circuit, Slater capitalised on the restart to reclaim the lead from Yamakoshi.

Rivera then forced his way into contention, making contact with Yamakoshi while diving down the inside at Les Combes as he challenged Taponen for second.

The decisive move came on Lap 12, when Rivera used DRS to overtake Slater into Turn 5 for the lead. Yamakoshi then fought back to snatch second from the Briton.

One point splits the leading duo

After holding an 18-point advantage following Silverstone, Ugochukwu’s lead in the Formula 3 championship has now been cut to a single point over Slater.

A pointless weekend for the American saw his advantage almost disappear, while Slater salvaged a podium in the Feature Race despite the pair’s collision on Saturday.

The stakes have never been higher, with Slater still chasing his maiden Formula 3 victory despite being firmly in the thick of the championship battle.

Just three rounds remain, with Hungary only days away. After their first on-track clash of the season, both drivers will be eager to continue their rivalry as the 2026 title fight intensifies.

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Written by

Jawad Yaqub

An eCommerce Specialist by day and reporting on F1 by night. Jawad is passionate about motorsport, having provided accredited F1 coverage for more than a decade and is a member of the AIPS (International Sports Press Association). Live blogging (almost) every grand prix too since 2014, as well as articles on the Supercars Championship. Also keen on sustainability, photography, collecting vinyl, (trying to) expertly barbeque and learning to Dad.

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