Jin Nakamura won on Saturday (18) the Sprint that opened the sixth stage of the 2026 Formula 3 season, held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The Japanese driver from Hitech started from fourth position but soon took the lead on the fourth of 12 laps, after overtaking Brando Badoer, and managed to hold off the rival’s attacks to triumph for the first time in the category.
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Nakamura’s victory also breaks a five-year drought for Japanese motorsport in the category. The last time a Japanese driver finished a Formula 3 race in first place was in 2021, when Ayumu Ywasa won at the Hungaroring circuit in Hungary.
Second place went to Badoer, a Rodin Motorsport driver who held the lead at the start but was overtaken by Nakamura after a restart. Pedro Clerot, a Brazilian who also races for Rodin, finished third, earning another podium this year. Mattia Colnaghi finished fourth with Van Amersfoort, with Taito Kato from ART Grand Prix in fifth.
Theóphie Nael, with a Campos Racing car, finished sixth, just ahead of Tuukka Taponen, seventh with MP Motorsport. Ernesto Rivera, a Campos Racing driver, was eighth, with Alessandro Giusti from MP Motorsport in ninth. Noah Stromsted from Trident closed the top 10. Fernando Barrichello gained some positions and ended up 21st with AIX Racing.
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The race featured two Safety Car deployments. On the very first lap, Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater, the two championship leaders, touched, with the Trident driver retiring, while the Campos Racing driver lost laps in the pits due to suspension problems. Later, on the eighth lap, Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi went off track and left debris.
Formula 3 concludes its visit to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit this Sunday (19) with the main race, scheduled for 3:30 AM.
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