For 1992, Hughes stepped up to the British Formula 3 Championship, finishing seventh whilst driving for Edenbridge Racing, with an eighth place at the Masters of Formula 3. For the following season, he finished fourth in the British F3, driving for Richard Arnold Developments, whilst he also unsuccessfully entered the German Formula Three Championship with RAD, and the Macau Grand Prix with March Engineering. In 1994, he competed in two rounds of the British F3 series (driving one race for March, and one for P1 Engineering), and five of the All-Japan Formula Three Championship (for HKS, in addition to completing a Formula One test for Lotus. He returned to the British F3 full-time in 1995, this time for Alan Docking Racing, and once again finished fourth, with an eleventh place at the Macau Grand Prix (for HKS), and a retirement at the Masters of Formula 3 (for ADR).