Yevan David Ends FIA Formula 3 Rookie Season with Strong Late-Season Progress

Colombo, Sri Lanka, September 2026 - Yevan David’s rookie FIA Formula 3 season ended with one particularly telling statistic: 0.273 seconds. That was all that separated the Sri Lankan from pole position in the second Madrid qualifying session.

Ninth on the grid was his best qualifying result of the year and completed a sequence that neatly defined his late-season progress. Silverstone had shown he could defend at the front, Monza that he could fight through the field, and Madrid that he could put together a lap among the leading runners.

David entered 2026 after finishing second overall and winning Rookie honours in Euroformula Open, then used New Zealand’s Formula Regional Oceania Trophy as preparation for FIA Formula 3.

Melbourne demonstrated immediately how substantial the step would be. Limited track time, tyre preparation and an exceptionally tight field meant small mistakes carried much greater consequences than in previous championships. David left Australia without the result he wanted, but with a far clearer idea of where the work was required. Monaco, Barcelona and the Red Bull Ring continued that education. Pace appeared in flashes, but consistently putting the whole weekend together remained the challenge.

By Silverstone, David felt he understood the car better and qualified 11th, his strongest grid position to that point. Under the reverse-grid Sprint format, that put him on the front row. What followed became the breakthrough of his season.

David held second behind Ugo Ugochukwu and defended the position under sustained pressure to become the first Sri Lankan to stand on an FIA Formula 3 podium. A day later, he added seventh in the Feature Race, completing his first double-points weekend.

At the time, David called Silverstone “a turning point”. Looking back after Madrid, he could explain more precisely why. “The biggest difference compared with Melbourne is that I now understand fundamentally how to drive the car fast. My lap execution, racecraft and confidence were already there to an extent and they all improved during the season, but the biggest change was understanding the car itself. “Once that became natural, I could drive instinctively and the speed came with it. That was when it really clicked for me, definitely from Silverstone onwards.”

Spa and Budapest brought more frustration, but the summer break gave David another opportunity to reset. He returned to Monza feeling mentally fresher and better able to process what the car was doing. The result was his strongest complete weekend of the season.

Starting 17th in the Sprint, David worked through the field to finish fourth. He repeated the result in the Feature Race from 16th, completing two overtakes on the final lap and at the final corner. Across the two races, he gained 25 positions. “I can’t explain how good that weekend felt,” he said. “It was good to get a P4 in the Sprint, but to do it in the Feature Race as well, with two last-lap, last-corner overtakes, was such a good feeling. “I really did feel a difference in myself. I came back fresher and I was feeling the grip of the car more. When your mind is fresh, you can be more aware and take in more information, and I think that helped me adapt and drive faster.”

 
Madrid supplied the qualifying performance that had been missing earlier in the year. David set a 1:50.023 in Qualifying 2 to take ninth, just 0.273 seconds from pole and only 0.051 behind title contender Freddie Slater. The three races themselves produced only one point, with overtaking proving difficult around the new Madring circuit, but the qualifying result was significant.

“It was really encouraging to be P9 and only around two tenths off pole,” said David. “P9 was our best qualifying performance of the year, so I think that says a lot about the progression we made. “I improved again from Monza to Madrid, particularly in the feeling I had for the car and knowing how to drive it on the limit. By then I really knew what was going on underneath me and what the car needed.”

That progression is what matters most when looking back on the season. David had arrived in Melbourne trying to understand how to extract the performance of an F3 car. By Madrid, he was doing so instinctively enough to qualify within three tenths of pole. 

The season also unfolded alongside A-Level exams, sponsor commitments and visits to Sri Lanka, where support for David’s international career continued to grow. On track, the results were uneven, but the strongest weekends each demonstrated something different.

Silverstone showed he could defend. Monza showed he could attack and manage a race. Madrid showed he could execute in qualifying. “That combination definitely changes how I look back on my rookie season,” David said. “I honestly wasn’t focused on results; I was focused on the work and the process. Because I had been concentrating on that for so long, when the results came they almost felt unexpected. “Looking back, though, I think we put every piece of the puzzle together. We had the racecraft to defend, the racecraft to attack and manage the tyres, and the lap execution to qualify inside the top ten. We’ve shown all of those elements now, and that gives us something really strong to fight with next year.”

David is equally clear that there is more work to do: “This season has taught me just how hard you have to work to succeed in Formula 3. It isn’t an easy championship, and I’m willing to do everything possible to keep improving. There are still areas where I need to improve, particularly with mindset and making sure I focus on the things I can control.”

“I’m really proud of how much I gave to this season and how hard I worked. It’s probably the first time I’ve looked back on a whole season and genuinely thought, ‘I’m proud of what I did.’ Most of all, I have to say thank you to everyone who supported me, especially everyone back in Sri Lanka. It has been a year of incredible support and encouragement, and I couldn’t be more thankful.” 

Yevan David’s racing is supported by Maliban, Dimo Group, Nations Trust Bank, Fidem Financial and the Ceylon Motor Sports Club (CMSC).

FIA Formula 3 Driver - Yevan David at Silverstone 2026 (Credit: James Gasperoti)

Yevan David at Monza 2026 (Credit: James Gasperoti)

About Yevan David

Yevan David is the first Sri Lankan to compete in the FIA Formula 3 Championship and, in 2026, became the first Sri Lankan to stand on an FIA F3 podium with second place at Silverstone. His rookie season also included two fourth-place finishes at Monza and a top-ten qualifying performance in Madrid.

Previously, David made history as the first Sri Lankan to score points in both Formula 4 and Eurocup-3, secured pole position at the FIA Motorsport Games and became the first Sri Lankan multiple race winner at Formula 3 level. He is also an X30 Asian Series Champion and competed successfully in FIA- CIK karting before making his single-seater debut in the F4 UAE Series.