Campos Racing Takes Control in Monte Carlo: Naël Fastest, Ugochukwu Third, and a Session That Almost Fell Apart

Naël Sets the Tone in Monaco, Wharton Hits the Wall, and F3 Thursday Delivered Everything Monaco Promises

Some circuits ease you in gently. Monaco doesn’t. The FIA Formula 3 Championship arrived in the Principality this afternoon for its second round of the 2026 season, and within the first minutes of real running there was already a red flag, a PREMA Racing car buried in the Swimming Pool barriers, and 29 drivers watching the garage monitors wondering how long they were going to be sitting still.

The answer was: a while.

James Wharton had been showing genuine pace, reaching the top of the timesheets with a 1:29.145 in the early stages of the session. It was an encouraging sign for an Australian driver who came to Monaco carrying complicated baggage he and teammate Louis Sharp had both crashed out of the Melbourne Sprint Race three months ago, missing the Feature Race entirely. Monaco was supposed to be the reset. This afternoon started badly.

On his following lap, Wharton appeared to lose steering on entry to the Swimming Pool section and made heavy contact with the barriers. He climbed out under his own power a relief that ran through the entire paddock but the barrier repairs took time and Race Control deployed the red flag for an extended period. An additional 15 minutes were added to the session clock once the circuit was ready. What had been a 45-minute session became something longer but broken in two, with the second half carrying most of the meaningful lap times.

Théophile Naël used every minute of it. The Campos Racing Frenchman spent the session building his pace methodically, never forcing the issue, never finding the barriers the opposite of what Monaco often demands from young drivers experiencing it for the first time. Monaco is something close to a home race for Naël, with family in attendance and the Principality filled with French supporters. “I took it easy this morning, just building the pace lap after lap,” he said after the session. “I’m super happy, P1, to start the weekend. I know that we can still improve the car, but I’m confident for tomorrow.”

His final lap a 1:25.794 was the benchmark nobody could beat. Freddie Slater pushed him hardest, ending the session second for Trident with a 1:25.853, just 59 thousandths behind. That is close enough to make Friday’s qualifying genuinely unpredictable. Ugo Ugochukwu completed the top three for Campos Racing, giving the Spanish team a commanding statement afternoon. Two cars in the top three, championship leader Ugochukwu as one of them, Naël setting the fastest time Campos arrived in Monaco in the best possible shape.

Bruno Del Pino was fourth for Van Amersfoort Racing, just ahead of Pedro Clerot (Rodin Motorsport) and Louis Sharp (PREMA) in fifth and sixth. The irony of Sharp finishing sixth while Wharton was parked in the barriers after another Monaco incident wasn’t lost on anyone. Ernesto Rivera, the Campos Racing Mexican driver making his Formula 3 Monaco debut today after missing Melbourne through injury, came home seventh. For a first proper lap around this circuit, that’s a strong result.

Seventeen of the thirty drivers on the grid were experiencing Monaco for the first time in free practice today. For all of them, Wharton’s red flag wasn’t just a disruption it was also the circuit’s first lesson, delivered without warning. That’s how Monaco teaches.

Qualifying runs tomorrow in two groups. The fastest time from each group earns pole and second on the grid respectively. On a street circuit where overtaking borders on impossible, those front-row spots carry more weight than at any other venue on the calendar.

Naël has the fastest time today. In Monaco, though, Thursday is only the opening chapter.

FREE PRACTICES

Naël topped the afternoon and Campos has two cars in the top three, but Monaco is the circuit that reshuffles the deck most dramatically in qualifying. Do you think Naël can carry that pace into a pole position tomorrow, or do you see Slater, Ugochukwu or someone further down the order pulling off a surprise? Let us know in the comments below.

Sources: Formula Scout, Pit Debrief, Formula Live Pulse, FormulaRapida.net, FIA Formula 3 Championship (fiaformula3.com)