Nikita Bedrin leads the way as the cosompolitan GB3 grid heads to mainland Europe for the first time in 2026, with the annual visit to the majestic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
The Italian driver holds a nine-point lead at the top of the standings following a sensational start to the season at Silverstone. There, Bedrin claimed both pole positions and fought back from slow starts to claim wins in the first two races of the year. His mix of experience, speed and race craft proved an almost unstoppable combination as he powered VRD Racing to the lead of both the drivers' and teams' standings for the first time in GB3.
After the first three races, Bedrin holds a nine point lead to Rodin's Maxim Rehm, with the German driver claiming two podiums and a run to sixth in the event finale to start his season strongly. Rehm is seven points clear of Hitech's Jin Nakamura, who competes the top three at the early stages in the season. The Japanese contender was the other driver to triumph at Silverstone after a sensational three-way last lap battle with Elite Motorsport duo Flynn Jackes and Kyuho Lee in the event finale.
Xcel Motorsport's sophomore Lucas Fluxa is next up, the Spaniard stood on the podium at Silverstone and is a likely challenger at Spa, having raced at the circuit in GB3 last year. He's equal on points with British teammate Rowan Campbell-Pilling who was a frequent figure in the top-six at Silverstone as he stepped up from F4.
Mexican Patricio Gonzalez enjoyed his best ever GB3 weekend at Silverstone and is sixth in the current standings, and it could have been even better. He was battling for a podium in the second race of the event, only to collide with Rodin's Abbi Pulling in spectacular style.
Elite's Lee is next up, the South Korean was another to impress as he moved up from F4, and as mentioned, was in the thick of the lead scrap in the final Silverstone contest.
Patricio's brother and VRD teammate Rodrigo Gonzalez ensures the team is the only squad to have all three drivers inside the top-10 at present, and sits just a point behind Lee and five ahead of Rodin's Martin Molnar. The Hungarian claimed a podium in the first race of the season, but luck deserted him after that.
Fortec's Alex Kattoulas completes the top-10 at present, the Japanese-Greek GB4 graduate battled into the top-10 in each race at Silverstone, but is aiming higher at Spa.
Elite's Jackes claimed a maiden GB3 podium in the Silverstone finale, and led the race from the start to the penultimate corner. The Australian-Filipino has taken a massive step forward in 2026 and should be a podium contender again.
Arden's Leon Wilson is the next GB4 graduate on the grid, the Yorkshireman was combative at Silverstone and should be one to watch at Spa.
Then we come to Hitech's Deagen Fairclough. The dominant British F4 champion from 2024 broke his GB3 win duck at the Monza season finale last year, and was in the scrap for two wins at Silverstone only to be struck by two gutting retirements. With the season so young, he's got plenty of time to fight back in the title race, and he doubtlessly will.
Fortec's Jack Taylor is another making the step up from GB4, the ever-cheery Aussie had plenty to be happy about at Silverstone as he continues his graduation, and is equal on points with Xcel's Brazilian Ricardo Baptista.
Yuhao 'Felix' Fu completes Hitech's entry, and is another moving up from F4, while Arden's Lewis Gilbert is battling an even bigger step-up, straight from karts to GB3! Despite his inexperience compared to the rest of the grid, he claimed three strong points finishes at Silverstone.
Hillspeed's Aurelia Nobels will be looking for something of a home advantage this weekend, she has Brazilian and Belgian heritage, and will count the event as her home round.
Her fellow F1 Academy graduate Abbi Pulling, the series' runaway 2024 champion, had perhaps her strongest GB3 weekend pace-wise at Silverstone, but the race two tussle denied her a feisty podium. Expect her to bounce back in style at Spa.
Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing's Jason Pribyl enjoyed a decent start to life in GB3 at Silverstone, and in the break between rounds stepped back to his GB4 roots at Oulton Park last weekend, not as a driver this time, but in the live stream commentary booth!
Hillspeed duo Dante Vinci and Peter Bouzinelos complete this weekend's 22-driver entry. The Australians showed plenty of potential at the opening rounds, and hopefully will get the fortune to go with it at Spa this weekend.
The event at Spa begins with two days of testing on Thursday and Friday, with the two-part qualifying session taking place (as is tradition at Spa) on Friday afternoon. The first two races will be held on Saturday, with the top-12 reverse grid following on Sunday morning.
Of course, like all events at Spa-Francorchamps, a good deal of weather watching will no doubt take place across the next few days, and showers could well affect the racing on Saturday and Sunday according to current forecasts. Could that open up another Freddie Slater last to first charge? We'll have to wait and see...
All this weekend's racing action across Saturday and Sunday can be followed live via streaming on the GB3 Championship website, the official Facebook page and the MSV TV YouTube channel.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Spa-Francorchamps entry list:
1. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, German
2. Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport, Hungarian
3. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, British
4. Jin Nakamura, Hitech, Japanese
5. Yuhao Fu, Hitech, Chinese
6. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, British
7. Lucas Fluxa, Xcel Motorsport, Spanish
8. Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport, British
9. Ricardo Baptista, Xcel Motorsport, Brazilian
10. Dante Vinci, Hillspeed, Australian
11. Peter Bouzinelos, Hillspeed, Australian
12. Aurelia Nobels, Hillspeed, Brazilian
18. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, Filipino
19. Kyuho Lee, Elite Motorsport, South Korean
20. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, Italian
21. Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing, Mexican
22. Rodrigo Gonzalez, VRD Racing, Mexican
23. Alex Kattoulas, Fortec Motorsports, Japanese-Greek
24. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, Australian
26. Lewis Gilbert, Arden Motorsport, British
27. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, British
31. Jason Pribyl, Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing, American