Un fine settimana straordinario per Pro Racing Motorsport: Gladysz conquista la sua prima vittoria in F3 per squalifica di De Palo, Peebles-Saucy-Hanley si confermano leader ELMS dopo il secondo posto a Imola, Paatz senza punti in F1 Academy. Al Hungaroring Francot annaspa nel mondiale FREC. All’E4 di Vallelunga weekend difficile per Ryukov e Chartier.
La 4 Ore di Imola va a Esteban Masson e Forestier Racing by Panis, che costruisce un vantaggio di oltre 50 secondi nel finale dopo aver sfilato la testa delle operazioni a Grégoire Saucy nella fase dei pit stop. Griffin Peebles, Saucy e Hanley però portano a casa il massimo rimasto: un secondo posto solido con United Autosports che consolida la leadership in LMP2 e porta la squadra in Belgio a Spa da capoclassifica con i 40 punti accumulati.
Giornata più complicata per Roda, Verschoor e Pin: la Duqueine corre una gara regolare ma i risultati della giornata sono decisi dalla bagarre Pro/Am, con Vector Sport che conquista la classe. L’equipaggio Duqueine è ha chiuso 7°. Quintarelli chiude con un grande podio in LMP3, categoria dominata dalla CLX Motorsport di Louis Iglesias che firma un debutto assoluto da primo posto. 3° posto per il Team Virage con Quintarelli, Nogales e Stern alla guida.
Continua la striscia dei 4° posti per la IDEC Sports con Valerio Riniciella, Laurents Hörr e Jamie Chadwick. Stesso risultati delle prime due gare stagionali.
Il sabato di Formula 3 appartiene a Ugo Ugochukwu, che conquista la sua seconda vittoria stagionale con 17 secondi di margine — una passeggiata. Nael sale sul podio all’ultimo giro, superando De Palo alla curva finale. Matteo De Palo chiude quarto dopo una Sprint Race di spessore, con una bella rimonta dalla quinta posizione. Maciej Gladysz sesto, dopo una gara di rimonte e battaglie nel gruppo di centro.
Matteo De Palo firma una Feature Race di altissimo livello: scattato quinto, si inserisce immediatamente nel gruppo di testa, sorpassa Nael alla chicane Stowe al terzo giro, poi si libera anche di Slater al quarto giro per prendere il comando. Gestisce la Safety Car finale con nervi saldi, difende gli attacchi di Slater e Nael all’ultimo giro e taglia per primo la bandiera a scacchi. Prima vittoria in Formula 3 — meritatissima, nel senso sportivo del termine.
Ma i festeggiamenti durano poco. La verifica tecnica post-gara rileva che il diffusore della vettura numero 6 è 3mm al di sotto del minimo regolamentare sul lato destro e 1mm sul sinistro. I commissari, non avendo ricevuto prove sufficienti dalla squadra circa la conformità della vettura, emettono la squalifica. De Palo viene escluso dai risultati.
La vittoria passa a Maciej Gladysz, che con la sua ART Grand Prix si ritrova primo classificato dopo aver terminato la gara in terza posizione — anche Nael era stato penalizzato con 10 secondi per l’incidente con Sharp. Per l’ART GP e il polacco, il primo successo in F3 arriva in modo insolito ma conta nei punti esattamente come gli altri.
In F1 Academy, Silverstone è il round di casa di Palmowski, che esegue una tripletta perfetta: pole, vittoria in Feature Race, 30 punti di vantaggio in classifica. In Gara 1 (griglia invertita) è Felbermayr a dominare con autorità, portando la gap da Palmowski in classifica. Mathilda Paatz chiude lontana in entrambe le gare con la Feature Race di domenica segnata da una Safety Car già al secondo giro per l’incidente tra Ferreira e Stevens, con Palmowski che gestisce la situazione alla perfezione.
L’Hungaroring regala un weekend durissimo a Reno Francot, squalificato in qualifica per “technical infringement e costretto a partire 30° e chiudere ritirato in Gara 1 vinta da Yuki Sano. Meglio invece in Gara 2 – vinta dal leader del mondiale Rashid Al Dhaheri – dove chiude 5° confermando il suo talento, nonostante alcuni passaggi a vuoto.
Il primo round dell’E4 Championship 2026 a Vallelunga vede Luka Sammalisto dominare la scena: vince Gara 1 partendo dalla terza fila e si ripete in Gara 3, diventando il primo leader del campionato. Gara 2 va invece a Kenzo Craigie. Per Luboslav Ryukov e Alexander Chartier il weekend è di adattamento con 36 piloti da 25 nazioni in pista. Il lavoro di conoscenza della serie inizia qui.
Ecco una traduzione in perfetto stile giornalistico inglese (tipico di testate motorsport come Autosport o The Race), caratterizzato da un ritmo incalzante, un vocabolario tecnico appropriato e i classici modi di dire del giornalismo automobilistico.
An extraordinary weekend of highs and lows unfolded for Pro Racing Motorsport. Maciej Gladysz claimed his maiden Formula 3 victory following Matteo De Palo’s post-race disqualification, while the trio of Griffin Peebles, Grégoire Saucy, and Ben Hanley cemented their ELMS championship lead with a solid runner-up finish at Imola. Meanwhile, Mathilda Paatz endured a scoreless F1 Academy round, Reno Francot weathered a stormy FREC weekend at the Hungaroring, and both Luboslav Ryukov and Alexander Chartier faced a challenging baptism of fire in the E4 Championship opener at Vallelunga.
The 4 Hours of Imola went the way of Esteban Masson and Forestier Racing by Panis, who built a commanding 50-second lead in the closing stages after jumping Grégoire Saucy during the pit stop phase.
Nevertheless, Griffin Peebles, Saucy, and Hanley maximized their package to bring home a crucial second-place finish for United Autosports. This podium result consolidates their LMP2 championship lead, ensuring the team heads to Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, at the top of the standings with 40 points in the bag.
It was a more complicated outing for Giorgio Roda, Richard Verschoor, and Doriane Pin. The Duqueine-backed entry ran a steady race, but their final classification was heavily dictated by the intense Pro/Am battles, with Vector Sport ultimately taking class honors. The Duqueine crew crossed the line in 7th.
In LMP3, seasoned veteran Matteo Quintarelli secured a fine podium finish. The category was utterly dominated by CLX Motorsport’s Louis Iglesias, who took a stunning victory on his series debut. Team Virage rounded out the podium in 3rd, thanks to a strong collective effort from Quintarelli, Pedro Perino Nogales, and Raphael Stern.
Meanwhile, IDEC Sport continued their uncanny streak of fourth-place finishes. The trio of Valerio Rinicella, Laurents Hörr, and Jamie Chadwick repeated their exact results from the opening two rounds of the season, maintaining their status as the grid’s most consistent performers.
Saturday’s Sprint Race belonged entirely to Ugo Ugochukwu, who cruised to his second victory of the season with a massive 17-second margin. Behind him, Teophile Nael snatched a podium finish on the final lap, pulling off a dramatic overtake on Matteo De Palo at the final corner. De Palo took the checkered flag in a commendable fourth after a stellar recovery drive from fifth on the grid, while Maciej Gladysz fought hard through the midfield chaos to finish sixth.
On Sunday, De Palo delivered a masterclass in the Feature Race. Launching from fifth, he immediately embedded himself in the leading pack, pulling off a brilliant move on Nael at the Stowe chicane on lap three before dispatching Freddie Slater on lap four to hit the front. Showing nerves of steel, De Palo managed a late Safety Car restart, withstood furious last-lap attacks from Slater and Nael, and crossed the line to take what seemed to be a thoroughly deserved maiden F3 victory.
However, the celebrations were short-lived. Post-race technical scrutineering revealed that the diffuser on the No. 6 car was 3mm below the mandatory minimum on the right side and 1mm on the left. With the team unable to provide sufficient evidence of compliance, the stewards issued a formal disqualification, expunging De Palo from the results.
Consequently, the victory was inherited by Maciej Gladysz. The ART Grand Prix driver was promoted to the top spot having originally crossed the line third—benefitting also from a 10-second penalty handed to Nael for an earlier clash with Louis Sharp. For the Polish prospect and ART GP, a maiden F3 triumph arrived in unusual circumstances, but the points count all the same.
In F1 Academy, Silverstone belonged completely to home hero Alisha Palmowski, who executed a flawless clean sweep: pole position, Feature Race victory, and a commanding 30-point lead in the standings. Saturday’s inverted-grid Race 1 was dominated by Emma Felbermayr, who managed to close the gap on Palmowski. Mathilda Paatz, however, finished well outside the points in both encounters. Sunday’s Feature Race was neutralized as early as lap two by a Safety Car following a heavy collision between Jessica Edgar and Nicole Havrda, but Palmowski managed the restart perfectly to secure the win.
Over in the FREC paddock, the Hungaroring threw a brutal weekend at Reno Francot. Disqualified from qualifying due to a technical infringement, Francot was forced to start Race 1 from the back of a 30-car grid and ultimately retired from the encounter, which was won by Yuki Sano. He bounced back brilliantly in Race 2, however, finishing a stellar 5th behind championship leader and race winner Rashid Al Dhaheri, reminding the paddock of his raw pace despite recent setbacks.
Finally, the season opener of the 2026 E4 Championship at Vallelunga was dominated by Luka Sammalisto. The youngster stormed from the third row to win Race 1 and repeated his heroic performance in Race 3 to become the early championship leader. Race 2 honors went to Kenzo Craigie. For Luboslav Ryukov and Alexander Chartier, the weekend was strictly about acclimatization. Facing a massive 36-car grid representing 25 nations, their steep learning curve in the series has officially begun.