Round 3 of the 2026 French F4 Championship was held from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Kota Tsuchihashi, competing in the series through Honda’s driver development programme, Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP), contested Race 1, which began at 11:45 on Saturday 20 June.

Spa-Francorchamps

Spa-Francorchamps is the only circuit outside France on the French F4 Championship calendar. The 7.004km track is long and features 104m of elevation change, as well as a sequence of challenging high-speed corners, making it known as a difficult circuit to master. Its changeable weather is also one of the factors that can influence how races unfold.

Race 1: P4 on the grid → P4

Tsuchihashi started from P4 on the grid and challenged for a position from the opening lap, but couldn't make it stick and was forced to settle into fourth.

On lap 2, the Safety Car (SC) was deployed after a car stopped at the side of the track, temporarily neutralising the battle. The race restarted on lap 5, but because of the long lap distance at Spa-Francorchamps, time had elapsed and only around 13 minutes remained in the 30-minute timed race. With limited time left, battles for position developed throughout the field after the restart. Tsuchihashi was involved in a three-way fight with the cars running in P2 and P3, but was unable to climb into a podium position.

As the race reached the chequered flag after 10 laps, Tsuchihashi crossed the line P4, earning 12 points and his first points-finish since the opening round.

©KSP Reportages