After three days of pre-season testing in Barcelona, PREMA Racing feel prepared to start the 2026 F3 season confidently. The team completed the most laps of any team on the grid, with 644 laps at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
A new driver line-up for PREMA
With a new driver line-up heading into the 2026 season, the Italian outfit is ready to fight. Their line-up consists of James Wharton, Louis Sharp, and José Garfias. Both Wharton and Sharp return to Formula 3 for their second campaign. However, Garfias will be experiencing his maiden F3 season as he steps up from the Euroformula Open Championship.
PREMA Team Manager Goffredo Pirro spoke about the importance of getting familiar with their drivers during the pre-season test, stating: “We’re quite happy. The two objectives were one, get to know the drivers. We have one new driver that we have to get to know from scratch.
“The other two, we are bringing them back into the team after the winter. Objective completed. Second was to confirm how we finished last year.”
“We’re quite happy. There are a few points to work on, but we showed a little bit what we wanted to show.“
Picking up from where they left off last season
The 2025 Formula 3 season was a tough one for the Italian outfit, as they finished seventh in the Teams’ Standings. In previous years, PREMA had been at the top of the standings, making the drop down the grid particularly hard to take. For 2026, the team hopes to return to the top.
While the first half of the 2025 season was an uphill battle, PREMA were making progress in the second half. Now, the team hopes the progress will build into strong momentum for 2026.
“In terms of performance, PREMA is where we finished in Monza. The technical aspect is the same. There haven’t been that many technical changes.”
“But we’re working hard to make sure that things are as positive as we can make them. We’re reasonably optimistic for the start of the season.” Pirro explained.
A positive team dynamic
While PREMA has a new driver line-up, one of their drivers is familiar with the team. Wharton spent his first three seasons in single-seaters with the Italian team. Although his maiden F3 campaign was with ART Grand Prix, he returns to PREMA in 2026. As both Wharton and Sharp return for their second F3 campaigns, the two drivers already know each other well. Meanwhile, rookie José Garfias was recently announced and has already integrated well into the PREMA family.
“The team dynamic is very good. James and Louis are good friends, which is good on most days.
“It might be a negative thing someday, but we’re happy. José also joined the team very late, but he fit right in. He’s a nice guy. He’s working hard.
“Overall, in that aspect, we are already happy. From the performance perspective, we can see a little bit later on when we start racing, but it’s a good start.” Pirro explained.
Additionally, the Team Manager reflected on the rollercoaster that was the 2025 season, saying: “We made a step forward in the middle of last year. In the first rounds, we had some ups and downs. The idea is not to start where we started, it’s to start where we left off. If we start where we left off, we’re happy.”
With the drivers getting up to speed and the team moving forward, PREMA hopes to improve its performance for the 2026 F3 season.
