SPRINT RACE: Yamakoshi earns maiden F3 win in Monte Carlo after Red Flag

Hiyu Yamakoshi converted reverse grid pole into a first victory in FIA Formula 3, winning the Monte Carlo Sprint Race.

After an early Red Flag, the Van Amersfoort Racing driver controlled the race from the front to lead home Gerrard Xie of DAMS Lucas Oil, and teammate Bruno del Pino in P3.

AS IT HAPPENED

Yamakoshi got the start he needed to retain the lead into Turn 1 ahead of Xie. Pedro Clerot went through the run-off and maintained third ahead of del Pino.

Into the hairpin and there was contact involving several cars, with Brad Benavides, Tuukka Taponen, Christian Ho and Brando Badoer left on the sidelines.

With multiple cars in need of recovering, the Safety Car was called upon before the end of the opening lap before a Red Flag was thrown on Lap 2 to clear the track.

Once the circuit was clear, the race was now running to time, with 21 minutes of action on the clock.

Clerot’s skip across Turn 1 at the original race start meant he was told to hand the position over to del Pino at the restart, and he obliged on the exit of the first corner.

Yamakoshi retained P1 but Xie remained in touching distance, less than half a second back from the leader.

With 17 minutes left of the Sprint, there was more contact at the hairpin to bring out another Safety Car.

Ernesto Rivera, Freddie Slater and Théophile Nael came to blows after an overtake attempt from the TRIDENT driver tipped Rivera into a spin, leaving Nael nowhere to go.

All three were able to rejoin the action but down the back of the pack and Slater was subsequently handed a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.

Yamakoshi got racing back underway once more with 14 minutes left on the clock, the Japanese driver able to keep Xie and teammate del Pino at bay.

With seven minutes to go, there was a brief Virtual Safety Car to recover some debris on the exit of the swimming pool chicane.

Race leader Yamakoshi established an almost two-second gap as racing went back to green flag conditions, as the DAMS driver faced pressure from del Pino to keep hold of P2.

With the top four locked in a DRS train, overtaking was at a premium, leaving Yamakoshi to take his maiden victory in FIA Formula 3 and Van Amersfoort’s first in Monaco.

Xie held on for his first F3 podium ahead of del Pino who ensured VAR had two drivers on the podium for the second successive Sprint in 2026.

Clerot wound up fourth ahead of Alessandro Giusti, Noah Stromsted, Ugo Ugochukwu, Jin Nakamura, Maciej Gladysz and Kanato Le in the points and top 10.

KEY QUOTE – Hiyu Yamakoshi, Van Amersfoort Racing

“So special to win here. Even if it’s a Sprint Race, it feels great. A win’s a win! Now I’m a Monaco winner, which is such a special thing. It’s a dream come true and I’m so happy about this result.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Ugo Ugochukwu remains at the head of the Drivers’ Championship, going onto 30 points. Bruno del Pino is P2 after another podium, going onto 26 points. Freddie Slater remains third on 18 points, with Taito Kato fourth on 16 and Enzo Deligny fifth with 12.

Having arrived in Monaco with the lead of the Teams’ Standings for the very first time, Van Amersfoort Racing extend their advantage at the top. The Dutch squad lead on 48 points, with Campos Racing second on 32. ART Grand Prix are third on 29, TRIDENT fourth on 25 and Rodin Motorsport complete the top five with 14.

UP NEXT

The FIA Formula 3 Feature Race is scheduled to get underway at 07:45 local time on Sunday morning, with Théophile Nael going from pole position.