McQueen wins Ukraine cup in FPV drone racing with payload
Payload handling turned a standard FPV race into a precision test, and McQueen won it in 29.708 seconds against 116 rivals.
The payload requirement turned Ukraine’s latest FPV showdown into more than a straight sprint. In the Cup of Ukraine final for FPV Drone Racing with Payload, Nazar Karmannikov, better known as McQueen, had to carry speed and control at the same time, and he did it better than anyone else, winning in 29.708 seconds.
McQueen raced for the Free Sky team and flew an F7 drone developed by F-DRONES, a result that mattered as much for the hardware as for the podium. In a discipline built around managing an added payload rather than chasing lap time alone, the winner has to preserve line quality, throttle discipline and handling authority under load. That is exactly why the victory resonated beyond a standard race result: it showed that the F7 platform could stay composed when the course demanded precision as well as pace.
The field gave the win real weight. According to the Ukrainian Technology Sports Federation and subsequent reporting, 116 participants entered the title race, making McQueen’s mark stand out in a deep competition rather than an exhibition-style event. The federation described the result as the final of the national cup and the time of 29.708 seconds as the record pace of the day, a number that underlined just how tight the margins were in a format where every clean gate and every stable line mattered.
The race also fits into a larger push to develop payload racing as a serious branch of the sport in Ukraine. A federation livestream on April 26, 2026, promoted the First International Drone Racing Cup, titled AIR BRIDGE, in Rzeszów, showing that the format was already gaining traction before McQueen’s cup win. The event was held with support from Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, the head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration and partners, a sign that this is not being treated as a novelty.
For drone racing, that institutional backing matters. Payload competition tests the same instincts pilots need in high-pressure field conditions: stable control, efficient lines and the ability to keep a craft composed while carrying extra weight. McQueen’s win for Free Sky, powered by the F-DRONES F7, gave Ukraine another sharp example of how tech sport can reward both the pilot and the platform in the same run.
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