Yamakoshi Takes First F3 Pole at Austrian GP

Hiyu Yamakoshi took his first FIA Formula 3 pole position at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for the Austrian Grand Prix, setting a best lap of 1:21.730 for Van Amersfoort Racing. He became the second F3 pole sitter of the 2026 season, after Theophile Nael.

Ugo Ugochukwu qualified second, just 0.015 seconds behind Yamakoshi, with Tuukka Taponen third, Noah Stromsted fourth and Freddie Slater fifth. Alessandro Giusti was sixth, followed by Taito Kato, Kanato Le, Jin Nakamura and Pedro Clerot to complete the top 10, while the 30-car field was separated by less than 1.2 seconds.

James Wharton qualified 12th and earned reverse-grid pole for Saturday’s Sprint Race. Nael’s session ended with a snap of oversteer at the final turn and he fell to 28th on the grid, while championship hopeful Brando Badoer qualified 29th. The F3 Sprint Race is scheduled to start at 10:05 local time on Saturday.