James Wharton secured his first FIA Formula 3 (F3) victory of the 2026 season in Saturday’s Sprint Race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, delivering a much-needed result after a challenging start to the campaign.
The PREMA Racing driver converted his front-row start into victory after a composed drive that saw him fend off pressure from TRIDENT’s Freddie Slater and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie. Speaking in the post-race press conference, attended by Pit Debrief, Wharton described the result as a welcome reward for both himself and the team.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a most welcome result for me and especially for the team as well,” Wharton said.
“We’ve definitely had the pace all year, and we just need to qualify a bit better. At the end of the day, we had the opportunity to show what we have today, and I feel like we did a really good job of it.”
Wharton believes the 2026 F3 Barcelona Sprint victory demonstrated PREMA’s true potential after several frustrating weekends earlier in the season.
“We showed that we can pass cars as well. So, I’m really happy and really happy for the team as well. So just looking forward to tomorrow and then for the rest of the season.”
While pleased with the result itself, the Australian pointed to his racecraft and decision-making as the aspects of his performance that stood out most to him.
“To be honest, I think my maturity level,” he explained when asked what he was most satisfied with from the race.
“Maybe 12 months ago and maybe two years ago, I wouldn’t have made those moves as clean as what they were and maybe would have rushed the moves.”
His second F3 season
Having entered his second season in FIA Formula 3, the PREMA driver believes his experience is beginning to show on track.
“So going into 2026, I knew that it’s my second season in F3, so rookie mistakes can’t happen. I drove a clean race today and I did the best I could.”
Despite taking victory, Wharton admitted the 2026 F3 Barcelona Sprint race was not without its challenges, particularly at the start where he felt he left the door open to his rivals.
“That was probably the top two worst race starts I’ve done in my career so far, which is not amazing,” Wharton admitted.
“Freddie was definitely the wrong person behind me to do a start like that. So, lucky to get away with that. But at the end of the day, we had the pace today and I feel like we deserve the win.”
A challenging start to 2026
The 2026 F3 Barcelona Sprint victory marks an important milestone in what has been a challenging period for Wharton. The Australian’s 2026 campaign got off to a frustrating start in Melbourne, where he qualified eighth before lining up fourth for the Sprint Race. However, contact with PREMA teammate Louis Sharp brought both drivers’ weekends to an early end, with the pair sustaining injuries in the incident. While the stewards deemed Sharp predominantly at fault, neither driver was able to continue competing that weekend.
The difficulties continued in Monaco, where Wharton qualified 13th in Group B, leaving him 26th on the grid for both races around the notoriously unforgiving street circuit.
The PREMA driver’s struggles have contrasted sharply with the promise he showed in recent years. After finishing second in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) standings behind Rafael Câmara, Wharton stepped up to FIA Formula 3 with ART Grand Prix in 2025. However, he endured a difficult rookie season, finishing 18th in the championship despite claiming a Sprint Race victory at Spielberg.
Saturday’s win in Barcelona therefore represents a significant step forward as Wharton looks to convert his evident pace into the results many expected when he arrived in Formula 3.
“For me, it’s definitely very tough,” he said. “The last, let’s say, two years have not been what I expected or what I wanted. Going to Formula 3, coming off an amazing season of FRECA, I thought I would be fighting at the front a lot more often.”
Maximising results on a familiar track
As a result, Wharton acknowledged that managing expectations and emotions has become one of the biggest challenges of his career.
“Wins like this are coming quite tough at the moment. To manage the expectations and to manage the emotions leading a race after the months I’ve had is very, very tough.”
Nevertheless, the PREMA driver believes his fortunes are beginning to turn.
“But I feel like I’m on the upward trajectory now and I’m very looking forward to the next coming weeks. I just can’t wait to put the car and put the team where we actually deserve.”
Barcelona has been a happy hunting ground for Wharton throughout his junior career, and the Australian once again delivered around a circuit where he has enjoyed considerable success.
“Yeah, going into Barcelona, I’m always very confident after the previous results I’ve had here,” he said. “Already, and just today, I maximised again. It’s probably my sixth win here in like eight starts or nine starts.”
The PREMA driver believes familiarity with the circuit helps, but also pointed to the importance of driver performance around a venue where margins are often incredibly tight.
“So I’m quite happy and quite confident on this track. But I feel this is a track where the driver makes a big difference because we’ve all driven here so many times that the margins are so small.
“So yeah, it’s one of the tracks I’m very comfortable with. And as a driver, when you feel comfortable on a track, it just makes life a lot easier.”
Wharton’s biggest learnings in his 2026 F3 season
Speaking further with Pit Debrief, Wharton reflected on the lessons he has learned during the opening rounds of the 2026 F3 season, highlighting the importance of remaining composed when results do not go your way.
“Yeah, for me, it’s been a bit of a different season to a lot of other people,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs and a lot of, let’s say, things haven’t gone my way and it’s been very hard to, let’s say, stay composed. And I feel like that’s the hardest thing as a racing driver is when things aren’t going correct.”
Watching several of his rivals fight consistently at the front has only added to that challenge.
“And seeing a lot of the people that have raced in the past, Freddie, Ugo, and all of them leading the championship, it’s very tough as a driver to have the motivation. But I feel like I’m doing a good job of staying calm and just trusting the process.”
Wharton believes the experience gained from dealing with those setbacks has strengthened him as both a driver and a competitor.
“At the end of the day, it’s my second year of F3, so I need to be winning some races to get to where I want, which is Formula 1. So I know I have a long way to go, but this year has just shown me that my maturity is getting more and more.”
Continuing to make the most of opportunities
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, the Australian says his focus is on maximising every opportunity that comes his way, just as he did in Barcelona.
“Yeah, I feel like for me right now, it’s just about maximising every weekend,” Wharton said.
“When I have the opportunities like I did today, it’s about maximising it, and if I start every race in the front row for a sprint race and that’s all I can do during the weekend, that’s what I have to do, and I have to maximise those results that I can get.”
After finally returning to the top step of the podium, Wharton hopes Saturday’s victory can serve as a springboard for the rest of his campaign.
“At the end of the day, races like this are always good as a racing driver and it shows a lot of people that when I have the opportunity, when I have the car underneath me, I do a good job.”
