Ugo Ugochukwu, the son of renowned Nigerian model Oluchi Onweagba, has secured his first victory in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with a dominant performance in the Melbourne Feature Race.
The Campos Racing driver recovered from a slow start that dropped him to third place before fighting his way back to claim the win ahead of Freddie Slater of Trident. Tairo Kato of Art Grand Prix completed the podium after penalties were issued to Theophile Nael and Noah Stromsted.
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Nael started the race from pole position and maintained the lead into the opening corner, while Slater overtook Ugochukwu at the start to move into second place. Slater attempted to challenge Nael for the lead on the opening lap but was unable to complete the move.
Ugochukwu quickly regained momentum and overtook Slater on lap two to move back into second position. Shortly afterward, he closed in on Nael and made a decisive move to take the lead.
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Further down the field, Kato was making steady progress and passed Stromsted to improve his position. As the race progressed, the leading trio built a gap to the rest of the field. However, the race was interrupted on lap nine when Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi crashed at Turn 12, bringing out the Safety Car.
When racing resumed, Ugochukwu extended his lead while Nael came under pressure from Slater. Meanwhile, several battles unfolded behind them, including a contest between Nicola Lacorte and other drivers for the remaining podium places.
Nael was later handed a five-second penalty for a false start, while Stromsted received a ten-second penalty for causing a collision. Slater eventually overtook Nael using DRS to move into second place.
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Later in the race, another Safety Car was deployed after Woohyun Shin stopped on track with suspension damage. The race finished under Safety Car conditions, confirming Ugochukwu’s maiden Formula 3 victory ahead of Slater, while Kato inherited third place due to the penalties issued to other drivers.
Bruno del Pino finished fourth after winning the Sprint Race earlier in the weekend, followed by Maciej Gladysz and Enzo Deligny. Brad Benavides finished seventh for AIX Racing ahead of Pedro Clerot and Jin Nakamura, while Mattia Colnaghi rounded out the top ten.
Reacting after the race, Ugochukwu said he was delighted to secure his first Formula 3 victory. “The Feature Race done here in Melbourne, managed to come away with a win, so super pleased, my first win in F3. It’s been a perfect start to the season, we have been quick all weekend. P2 off the line, fell back a little at the start but managed to make my way back through to the lead and from there I had a nice gap until the last Safety Car. Super happy and thank you to the whole team,” he said.
After the opening round of the season, Ugochukwu leads the drivers’ championship standings with 25 points, ahead of Slater and Del Pino who both have 18 points. Kato sits fourth with 16 points, while Deligny is fifth with 12.
In the teams’ standings, Van Amersfoort Racing leads with 30 points, followed by Campos Racing with 27 and ART Grand Prix with 26. TRIDENT sits fourth with 20 points, while Rodin Motorsport completes the top five.
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Ugochukwu is the son of Nigerian fashion model Oluchi Onweagba and her Italian husband and fashion designer, Luca Orlandi. He previously finished third in the F4 British Championship racing for Carlin and was runner-up in the 2023 Italian F4 Championship for Prema. He also competed in the Formula Regional European Championship. In 2024, Ugochukwu became the first American victor of the Macau Grand Prix in 43 years. Ugochukwu was also part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme from 2021 to 2025.
