At this weekend’s FIA F3 season opener in Australia, Kato finished P5 in Saturday’s Sprint Race before lining up for Sunday’s Feature Race.

Feature Race: Started P7 → Finished P3

The 23-lap Feature Race began at 8:50 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, in dry conditions, with an air temperature of 16°C and a track temperature of 20°C. As in the previous day’s race, intense battles unfolded throughout the field immediately after the start.

With the Feature Race grid based on qualifying results, Kato started from P7. After briefly losing ground in the early battles, he recovered with a composed drive. Closing in on the cars ahead, he executed an outside overtake at Turn 9 on lap 6 to reclaim P7.

On the following lap, a car behind ran off track and stopped, bringing out the Safety Car (SC). Racing resumed on lap 12, with positions from P4 to P8 tightly contested and presenting Kato with another opportunity to advance.

On lap 17, contact between two cars ahead promoted Kato to P5. A second SC was deployed on lap 20, and the race finished under caution. Time penalties for two cars ahead then elevated Kato to P3, securing a podium finish in his debut race.

Amid the close racing typical of a development category, Kato steadily worked his way up the order with calm and consistent racecraft, which was an encouraging performance for the season ahead.

Taito Kato Profile

In 2025, Kato claimed a rookie victory in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship (FRMEC) and finished seventh overall in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA). He also finished fifth at the Macau GP FR World Cup and took another win in the third round of the FRME as preparation for the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season.

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