James Wharton claimed the race victory in the 2026 F3 Barcelona Round Sprint Race. See the full report on what unfolded at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya below.
Following the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Monte Carlo round, the championship headed directly to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for Round 3 of the season. In Friday’s Qualifying session, Théophile Naël secured his third consecutive pole position, leading a Campos Racing front-row lockout ahead of Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu. Hiyu Yamakoshi qualified third.
For Saturday’s reverse-grid Sprint Race, Gerrard Xie lined up on pole position, with James Wharton alongside him on the front row and Freddie Slater starting third.
Maciej Gładysz carried a three-place grid penalty into the weekend after impeding Fernando Barrichello during Qualifying.
Before the formation lap, Taito Kato was unable to leave the grid and was forced to start from the pit lane. Mattia Colnaghi also started the race from the pit lane.
Lights out for the 2026 F3 Barcelona Sprint Race
When the lights went out, Xie made a strong launch to retain the lead into Turn 1. Wharton was squeezed at the start and lost momentum, eventually settling into second place ahead of Slater in third. Despite several drivers running side-by-side through the opening corners, the field negotiated the opening lap cleanly without incident.
Race Control noted Gładysz for being out of position at the start, while Noah Strømsted enjoyed a remarkable opening lap, gaining eight positions as he carved his way through the field.
Further down the order, Enzo Deligny and Bruno del Pino settled into fifth and sixth positions respectively.
On Lap 5, Wharton capitalised on Xie’s apparent tyre struggles and completed a move for the race lead into Turn 1.
Further back, Garfias spun at Turn 13 before continuing. Later, he drove through the pit lane while running a lap down.
Shortly afterwards, Rivera’s Campos Racing car suffered a loss of power, forcing him to pull over on the old section of the circuit. The stranded car required recovery, bringing out the Safety Car. During the incident, Brando Badoer sustained minor front-wing damage after making contact with the rear of Rivera’s slowing car, allowing Ugo Ugochukwu to move ahead of the Rodin Motorsport driver.
Ugochukwu continued his progress through the field, overtaking both Hiyu Yamakoshi and Badoer as he worked his way into the leading group.
Colnaghi’s difficult afternoon came to an early end as he retired from the race.
Meanwhile, an investigation was opened involving Ho and Barrichello after Ho was alleged to have left the track and gained an advantage. Ho received a 10 second time penalty for the incident, plus a 5-second penalty for a false start.
Safety car out for Rivera, then a second one for Ugochukwu
As marshals worked to recover Rivera’s stricken car, Race Control deployed the Safety Car. By the time the field was neutralised, Kato—who had started from the pit lane—had already climbed to P23.
Racing resumed on Lap 11, with Wharton backing up the field approaching Turn 13 in an attempt to break the slipstream to Slater behind. Further back, Taponen began applying pressure to Xie for third place. Although Wharton successfully created a gap to Slater, the green-flag running was short-lived. Race Control deployed a second Safety Car after Ugochukwu attempted a switchback move on Deligny at Turn 3. The Campos Racing driver ran off the racing line, lost grip and beached his car in the gravel.
The race resumed once again on Lap 16, with Wharton accelerating out of Turn 12 in another attempt to break the tow to Slater. Taponen immediately renewed his attack on Xie for the final podium position. Shortly after the restart, yellow flags briefly waved when De Palo spun following contact with Clerot.
Penalties changing the order
The stewards handed Badoer a 10-second time penalty for his earlier collision with Rivera, while Wharton continued to control the race at the front, setting the fastest laps and extending his advantage to over a second. Elsewhere, the stewards penalised Lacorte by five seconds after noting him for moving before the start signal.
After starting from the pit lane, Kato continued his recovery drive and climbed to P18, working his way through the back of the field. Strømsted also impressed, pulling off a bold move on Giusti around the outside of Turn 12 to take 11th place.
In the closing stages, Xie began to pressure Slater for second, with the DAMS Lucas Oil driver appearing to have managed his tyres carefully throughout the race. As Slater dropped out of DRS range of race leader Wharton, he became increasingly vulnerable to attacks from behind, bringing Taponen into the battle as well.
At the chequered flag, Wharton secured his first FIA Formula 3 victory of 2026 in the F3 Barcelona round Sprint, capping off a commanding performance after a difficult start to the season. Slater held on to finish second for TRIDENT, while Xie completed the podium in third. Taponen took fourth, with the Van Amersfoort Racing trio of Deligny, Bruno del Pino and Yamakoshi finishing fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
