Ugo Ugochukwu has won the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship, becoming the first American driver to claim the title after finishing second in the final race of the season in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday.

The 19-year-old secured the championship at the newly built Madring circuit after finishing behind Finland’s Tuukka Taponen, whose maiden F3 victory came in the season finale. Ugochukwu’s result was enough to beat British driver Freddie Slater to the title, with Slater finishing eighth.

Ugochukwu and Slater had entered the final race level on points, but the Campos Racing driver kept his race clean to finish second and end the season on 159 points, 14 ahead of Slater’s 145.

🏆 UGO UGOCHUKWU 🏆

Our newest @Formula3 champion! Congratulations, Ugo 👏🇺🇸#RoadToF1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/k38WYbmY1I

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 13, 2026

The championship caps a breakthrough season for the New York-born driver, who first rose to wider consciousness in March after taking his maiden FIA Formula 3 victory in the Feature Race at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit during the opening stages of the 2026 campaign.

His title challenge, however, went through a late-season battle with Slater. The Briton moved eight points clear after winning the Feature Race in Budapest in July, putting Ugochukwu behind heading into the summer break.

Ugochukwu responded in the final stages of the campaign and arrived in Madrid with the championship still within reach. Starting the final race from second on the grid, he avoided trouble and stayed behind Taponen throughout the race before crossing the line in second.

A late Safety Car created a final-lap battle for the win, but Taponen held on for his first F3 victory. Ugochukwu’s second place, meanwhile, was enough to secure the championship.

“We did it, FIA F3 Champions! Super, super happy and I can’t thank the team enough for an amazing year,” Ugochukwu said after the race. “We knew we just had to keep it clean to clinch the title, and that’s what we did.”

The result makes Ugochukwu the first driver from the United States to win the FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship. He finished ahead of Slater, while Taponen’s victory moved him into third in the final standings.

For Ugochukwu, the achievement also marks a significant turnaround from his debut F3 season. He finished 16th in the championship in 2025, with two podiums, before returning this year with Campos Racing and mounting a title challenge from the opening rounds.

The Nigerian-American previously spent time in McLaren’s driver development programme before being dropped in November 2025 as part of a major change to the team’s young-driver roster. He tested a Formula 1 car for the first time in June this year.