The 19-year-old Campos Racing driver became the first American to win the modern FIA Formula 3 title. He is also the first champion with Nigerian heritage, through his mother, supermodel Oluchi Onweagba-Orlandi. He races under the United States flag.
Ugochukwu entered the final race level on points with Britain’s Freddie Slater after a weekend swing in Madrid. He had arrived 15 points behind Slater following a difficult round at Monza. Strong qualifying and a Saturday Feature Race recovery drew them level; Slater retired from that race.
On Sunday, Tuukka Taponen (MP Motorsport) won from pole. Ugochukwu started second, held station and took the title. Slater finished eighth. The final standings were Ugochukwu 159 points, Slater 145, Taponen 109.
“We knew we just had to keep it clean to clinch the title, and that’s what we did. No mistakes, brought it home,” Ugochukwu said.
He later told SuperSport he was proud of his Nigerian roots. “It’s amazing and I’m super proud of my Nigerian roots on my mum’s side.”
Born in New York on 23 April 2007 to Onweagba-Orlandi and Italian designer Luca Orlandi, he came through the McLaren driver development programme. He debuted in F3 with PREMA in 2025, then moved to Campos for 2026. The season brought seven podiums and two wins.
The title places him on a path shared by recent F3 champions who have stepped up to Formula 2 and Formula 1. The top five in the standings graduate to F2 in 2027 with prize money. For Nigeria and the United States, the result is a first at this level of the FIA ladder.