Hitech closes 2026 season with points in Madrid
Round 9 – Madring – Report
Hitech brought the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season to a close at the brand-new Madring, with Jin Nakamura scoring points in both the Sprint and Feature Race 1 as the team completed its first weekend at the Madrid circuit.
After two days of testing at the Madring ahead of the weekend, Hitech arrived with valuable knowledge of the new venue, with Jin going on to top Friday practice.
Sprint Race
The opening race of the weekend saw Jin make progress from P6 to finish seventh, fighting hard through the field to secure four points.
Fionn McLaughlin also moved forward from P14 to finish P13, while Michael Shin completed the race in P26.
The Sprint marked the first-ever FIA Formula 3 race at the new Madring.
Feature Race 1
Jin continued Hitech’s points-scoring form in the first Feature Race. Starting from P6, he fought his way through a competitive race to finish P5, adding another strong points haul to the four he had already scored in the Sprint.
A Safety Car period was called on Lap 10 after Slater hit the barrier, with the race resuming on Lap 12.
Jin’s fifth-place finish gave him 14 points across the first two races of the weekend.
Feature Race 2
The final race of the 2026 season proved to be a quieter affair for the Hitech trio before a late Safety Car created a final-lap shootout.
Jin started from P14 and held the position for much of the 19-lap race before dropping back in the closing stages and recovering to finish P15.
Fionn maintained his starting position of P16 for much of the race before moving up to P14 by the finish, while Michael started P25, dropped to P27 by Lap 6 and recovered to P25 at the flag.
A late Safety Car brought the field together before coming in with one lap remaining, setting up a frantic final lap and bringing the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season to a close.
Paul Bellringer, Hitech F3 Team Manager:
“The Madring was a positive way to finish the season. Jin was fastest in practice and showed strong pace throughout the weekend, backing that up with P7 in the Sprint and an excellent P5 in Feature Race 1.”
Paul continued:
“Fionn also showed good pace and added to his strong recovery drives this year, while Michael has worked hard through his rookie season and continued to make progress. Jin’s victory at Spa the obvious highlight, but I want to thank all three of them, along with the entire team, for the hard work they’ve put in.
“We’ll take the lessons from this season, build on the positives and come back stronger next year.
“Finally, congratulations to Ugo Ugochukwu on winning the championship.”
Jin finishes P14 in the Drivers’ Championship with 53 points, including his Spa victory. Fionn finishes P27, with Shin P33 after their rookie seasons in F3.
Hitech finishes P8 in the Teams’ Championship with 55 points.
