The 2026 GB3 season got underway at Silverstone between 23rd and 26th April with Sheffield’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling making his championship debut at the iconic ‘home of British motorsport'.

The race weekend, which is the first of eight events in the GB3 calendar, saw Campbell-Pilling finish all three of the races in the top 10 to finish the weekend as the top-ranked rookie.

You’ve got a great home crowd; we had so many partners, family and friends there; it was amazing. So to be able to deliver three really, really strong results in our debut weekend and in our debut season was a great feeling. We’ve done an awful lot of people proud within Sheffield and South Yorkshire as a wider region, and we will continue to do that.

For me it’s been a great start to the campaign. You know the team has put a really, really strong car out every time; we’ve not really had a session where we’ve gone out and gone, ‘Oh no, we’re lacking this or lacking that'; it’s always been in a good window, and that’s a testament to what a great job Xcel are doing as a team, and then working with them on the driving side is really important.

Throughout the race weekend Campbell-Pilling didn’t finish outside of the top 10 in any of the sessions he competed in, which included 5 practice sessions, 2 qualifying sessions and 3 races.

Across the three races he also recorded two fifth-placed finishes and a seventh-placed finish in the reverse grid race to cement his place as the highest-placed debutant.

On his results throughout the race weekend, Campbell-Pilling said: “We have consistently been near the front and near the sharp end, and that’s been really good, and it’s testament to, like I just said, what a great job the team are doing, and then the driving’s in a good window as well, but it’s never perfect; you’re always searching for the perfect lap, and there’s always something that can be improved.”

“[Regarding the reverse grid race] It was really fun to get stuck in, be in the mix and be able to hack it with the lads and girls that have done it for over a year now. So that was really good and a really great experience, and ultimately it’s always good fun. It’s a great track to race round, Silverstone, so lots of fun and lots of positives to take home from it.”

After the opening three races of the 24-race calendar, Campbell-Pilling is currently 5th out of 23 in the driver standings on 47 points.

He sits behind Lucas Fluxá, his teammate who is also on 47 points; third-placed Jin Nakamura; second-placed Maxim Rehm; and first-placed Nikita Bedrin.

On his placement in the driver standings, Campbell-Pilling said: “Overall it was a really strong weekend, and I think the things we struggled with come with experience and more time in these cars, and to be top 5 in the championship after my first weekend, whilst also being the only driver inside the top 7 in the championship without any second-year experience, so I think it was really strong and really good form to start the year, and we started as we mean to go on.”

He makes his GB3 debut with Xcel Motorsport, the team who were responsible for his third-place finish in the F4 UAE Trophy Series, which saw him win a race and finish on the podium a further two times.

They currently sit third in the team standings on 94 points thanks to Campbell-Pilling, Fluxá and their teammate Ricardo Baptista.

On making his GB3 debut with Xcel Motorsport, Campbell-Pilling said: “It’s really good. I’ve said since I started with them, on day one, that they're a really good bunch and they're very motivated. You’ve got Gary Bonner at the helm of the Xcel ship from the GB3 side of things, and he’s very, very good and very competitive and also has a lot of experience.”

“It’s a big jigsaw puzzle at the end of the day, and you know if you don’t have all the right pieces, you’re not going to be at the front, and you’re not going to be able to win because there’s always someone else who has all the right pieces in the right place. So it’s a case of having as many pieces in the right places as possible so when you get in that car and you go and drive, you know you can extract the best you possibly can. I think we’ve worked really well together to do a really strong job so far, so we’ll continue to strive to do even better.”

Seven more events remain in the GB3 2026 season, including a return to Silverstone at the end of July, which is followed by two events at British circuits (Donington Park and Brands Hatch) in September.

The GB3 drivers will compete at four further Formula 1 circuits, outside of Silverstone, which include the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Hungaroring (Hungary), Red Bull Ring (Austria) and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Spain).

On the next event and the rest of the season, Campbell-Pilling said: “I think keep the trajectory on for sure, but ultimately this year for me is all about learning and developing and trying to do the best job we possibly can because ultimately you’ve just got to keep trying and doing your best, and I’m a firm believer that you can achieve anything if you give it your best shot and put 110% into it.”

“The goal for the season as a whole is very similar, and it’s just to learn as much as possible, learn and develop as a driver, and ultimately to enjoy it. It’s amazing, and it’s an incredible journey to be on. It's an amazing opportunity that I’ve got, so I just have to be grateful for that and to enjoy every minute of it as it comes because you know you only get these opportunities and chances once in life, so you’ve got to not only maximise them but also enjoy them.”

The next event on the GB3 calendar is the second round of races at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps which will take place between 28th-31st May.