Ugo Ugochukwu claimed victory at the 2024 Macau Grand Prix in what was a solid display throughout the weekend.
The American won a rain-soaked qualifying race on Saturday, before holding onto his lead in the main event to take victory ahead of Oliver Goethe and future Formula 3 teammate Noel Leon.
The 17-year-old had been on the pace for much of the weekend. Alan Hyde was really impressed with Ugochukwu in qualifying as he set the fastest time in the second session that saw seven red flags end the session early.
Goethe had been setting the standard in practice and Qualifying 1, but the multiple stoppages prevented him from getting a clear lap in to beat Ugochukwu on Friday.
The tricky weather conditions in the qualifying race and the main event meant the German could not get close enough to challenge the American as he commanded his lead. Ugochukwu won the Grand Prix on Sunday over Goethe by just four tenths of a second.
Tiff Needell does not think McLaren ‘headhunted’ Ugo Ugochukwu to sign him to the team
Victory at Macau will put Ugochukwu in good stead heading into his debut season with PREMA in F3.
The American has been with the team throughout his career so far and has enjoyed great success with the Italian outfit in Formula 4, before moving onto Formula Regional machinery this year.
Ugochukwu is also part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and his Macau win will certainly get people taking more about him and his ties to the Woking-based outfit as he heads to F3 next year.
One of those people was Tiff Needell, who speaking on the Lovecars On The Grid podcast, was not convinced that McLaren ‘headhunted’ Ugochukwu and claimed that he ‘obviously’ brought financial backing to secure the deal.
“And the Grand Prix itself, the winner was Ugo Ugochukwu, who’s this McLaren signed-up kid who’s brought money obviously to go to McLaren, to be a McLaren protégé,” he said.
“Because he wasn’t winning races when he went to McLaren. He was like a karting champion, he was a bit like a Red Bull rookie. I don’t think McLaren headhunted him and brought him over, put it that way.”
How did Ugo Ugochukwu perform in 2024?
When looking at Ugochukwu’s results at face value, they do back up Needell’s claim, given that he had only won one race in the three championships he raced in in 2024 besides the Macau victory.
The American finished 11th in FRECA this season, claiming his solitary win at the final round at Monza, as well as a podium at Budapest.
READ MORE: The ‘very unusual’ issue F3 star Oliver Goethe suffered before missing out on Macau Grand Prix pole
Despite the disappointing results, the 17-year-old was given the chance to step up to F3 next year. Fans berated PREMA’s signing of Ugochukwu, given his performances compared to his teammates.
Rafael Camara won the FRECA title for PREMA this season with James Wharton finishing second, winning 11 races between them. The duo have since left the Italian team and will join Trident and ART Grand Prix respectively alongside Ugochukwu in F3 in 2025.