Nigerian-American driver Ugo Ugochukwu claimed his first FIA Formula 3 Championship victory with an impressive drive in the Feature Race in Melbourne, recovering from an early setback to cross the finish line ahead of Britain’s Freddie Slater.
Driving for Campos Racing, the 18-year-old started strongly but dropped to third position at the opening corner, falling behind polesitter Théophile Nael and Slater.
However, he quickly regained his rhythm and began fighting his way back through the field.
By the second lap, Ugochukwu had reduced the gap to Slater to less than a second and executed a decisive overtake at Turn 9 to move into second place. Shortly afterwards, he repeated the move on Nael at the same corner to take the lead.
Once in front, the young driver controlled the race pace and gradually extended his advantage as the leading trio opened a gap of about two seconds over the rest of the field by Lap 8.
The race was briefly neutralised on Lap 9 after Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi crashed into the barriers at Turn 12, prompting the Safety Car. When racing resumed on Lap 12, Ugochukwu maintained his lead and stretched it to more than a second over Nael, who was coming under pressure from Slater.
Further incidents occurred behind the leaders as several drivers were penalised for false starts and collisions. Nael received a five-second penalty for jumping the start, while Noah Stromsted was later handed a 10-second penalty for causing contact with Nicola Lacorte.
Slater eventually passed Nael on Lap 20 using DRS at Turn 9 to move into second place. Soon after, the Safety Car was deployed again when Woohyun Shin stopped on track with rear suspension damage.
The race finished under Safety Car conditions, sealing Ugochukwu’s maiden Formula 3 victory ahead of Slater. Japan’s Taito Kato moved up to third place for ART Grand Prix after time penalties were applied to Nael and Stromsted.
The result places Ugochukwu at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings after the opening round with 25 points.
Born and raised in New York City, Ugochukwu is the son of Nigerian supermodel Oluchi Onweagba and her Italian husband.
Before stepping up to Formula 3, he finished third in the British F4 Championship with Carlin and was runner-up in the Italian F4 Championship in 2023 with Prema Racing. He also competed in the Formula Regional European Championship and made history in 2024 by becoming the first American driver in 43 years to win the Macau Grand Prix.
Ugochukwu, who was part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme between 2021 and 2025, now leads the championship standings after a commanding start to the new season.
