This McLaren driver stays calm and fighting despite all the setbacks

14:20, 20 Jul

byLudo van Denderen

Unlike Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, not every McLaren driver is having a smooth season. Seventeen-year-old Ugo Ugochukwu made his Formula 3 debut this year amid high expectations — and it hasn’t been easy. Speaking to GPblog, the American says he's making progress week by week.

When Ugochukwu does make it onto the podium, the tall American towers over even the race winner. He scored his first podium finish in the Austria sprint race — a long-awaited breakthrough in what had been a tough season up to that point.

But the celebration didn’t last long. Hours after the podium ceremony, Ugochukwu was handed a time penalty, dropping him from third all the way down to sixteenth.

Another mental setback for the driver, who McLaren has high expectations for. However, the winner of the prestigious Macau Grand Prix stays calm - as he always is.

Ugo Ugochukwu is having a tough season in F3

Ugochukwu remained calm despite setbacks

Asked by GPblog how he handles all the setbacks, the now eighteen-year-old talent says that misfortune is just a part of motorsport: ''Of course you always have ups and downs, similar for probably a lot of people.''

''It's a super close championship, so to be at the front in every race is really the main thing, but there are going to be weekends where they're slower and quicker.''

''We just really try to focus on where we're going and just keep looking forward to the next weekend and what we can do better.''

McLaren stands behind Ugochukwu

At least he can count on the help of McLaren: ''I think the team has been really good to be honest. Just working with them, seeing where our weak points were and where our strong points were as well, where we need to improve.''

''I think we've applied that really well throughout the year. And yeah, as you've seen, the results are now getting better and better.''

''We're going to try to maintain that throughout the whole season really,'' finally Ugochukwu says, who finished at the front of the field in the Austria main race (fourth) and the sprint race in Great Britain (fifth).