Wharton began karting at the age of eight in his homeland of Australia. Following two years in Mini and Cadet karting, he won eight out of ten races in his 2017 season, winning the Australian Championship in the process.[1] Following that, he and his father moved to Europe to progress his career, where he spent four years contracted to Parolin, competing in various continental championships.[2] At the end of 2020, Wharton was added to the All Road Management stable managed by Nicolas Todt.[3]
Starting his single-seater at the beginning of 2022, Wharton would compete in the Formula 4 UAE Championship with Abu Dhabi Racing, a team operated by Prema Racing.[4] He took a third-place rostrum on his debut, during the opening round in Yas Marina.[5] He proceeded to dominate the first Dubai event, scoring three victories out of the four races.[6] He was only expected to compete in the opening two rounds,[7] but returned for the final two rounds.[8] He would end the season with one more win during the final race in Yas Marina, finishing fifth in the standings with 168 points.[9]
Wharton remained with Prema for the European racing season, driving in the Italian F4 and ADAC F4 championships.[10] In ADAC F4, Wharton earned his first podium during the opening Spa-Francorchamps round,[11] He then took a double podium during the second Nürburgring round, finishing fifth in the standings.[12][13] but waited until the first Nürburgring round to stand on the rostrum again, this time being his only victory from both campaigns.[14] In Italian F4, Wharton took a podium during each of the first five rounds, in a season dominated by teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli; he also finished fifth in the standings.[15]
Wharton once again partook in F4 UAE at the beginning of 2023, being part of the Mumbai Falcons.[16] He opened the season with a podium in Dubai,[17] before taking his first win of the year during the first race in Kuwait.[18] He proceeded to lock out the podium during the second Kuwait round, which included winning the third race.[19] He again repeated this feat in the second Dubai round despite not winning a race, but still gained the standings lead.[20] Having taken triumphed the first two races during the Yas Marina finale,[21][22] Wharton clinched the title as a result of a collision with title rival and teammate Tuukka Taponen during the final race; overall, he achieved four wins and eleven podiums throughout his campaign.[23][24]
Wharton remained with Prema Racing for the Italian F4 Championship.[25] He scored his first podiums of the campaign in round 2 at Misano,[26] before following it up with a double victory in Spa-Francorchamps.[27][28] He again took a double rostrum in Paul Ricard which included a pole position,[29] but a fuel pump issue handed the win to Kacper Sztuka with a few corners to go.[30] One more podium followed in Mugello followed, as Wharton would end the year fourth in the standings with two wins and eight podiums.[31]
Wharton also competed in the newly-formed Euro 4 Championship with Prema.[32] He placed on the podium during the first round in Mugello, which included a win from pole during the final race.[33] After a third place in Monza,[34] He ended the campaign with a further win in Barcelona,[35] which placed him runner-up with two wins and three further podiums, missing out on the title to teammate Ugo Ugochukwu.[36]
For his main campaign, Wharton moved up to the Formula Regional European Championship, once again driving for Prema Racing, alongside former Italian F4 rivals Rafael Câmara and Ugo Ugochukwu.[40] He finished on the podium in the opening race of the season at Hockenheim[41] Before the season, he stated that he had "even more motivation to prove myself" after being dropped from the Ferrari Driver Academy.[42] He started on pole position for the second race, but an incident with Pedro Clerot led to him retiring from the race.[43] Similar misfortune would befall him in Spa and Zandvoort, with a crash in qualifying at the former leading to a DNS in race one followed by another podium in race two, and a pole position at the latter leading to two non-points finishes.[44][45][46]
However, Wharton's season began to turn around at Mugello, where he took his maiden Formula Regional win in race two.[47][48] In Paul Ricard, he started 24th for race 2 following a puncture in qualifying, but made up fifteen positions to finish ninth.[49] He followed it up with a pair of third places in Imola,[50] and another win at Red Bull Ring, this time from pole position.[51] A perfect weekend in Barcelona, where he won both races from pole position, propelled him to second overall in the standings.[52] Another double third place in the Monza finale solidified himself as runner-up in the championship, having taken four wins, four poles, ten podiums and 234 points.[53]
Wharton also participated in the 2024 Macau Grand Prix with ART Grand Prix.[54] On lap 1 of the main race, Wharton crashed into the barriers at Lisboa, which caused a pileup that took him and several others out of the race.[55]
Wharton reunited to Prema Racing to contest his second season of Formula 3 in 2026.[66]
Formula One
At the end of 2020 Wharton was chosen by Motorsport Australia to be one of its representatives for the FDA 2020 Scouting World Finals. He ended up winning the shootout, therefore gaining a place in the Ferrari Driver Academy.[67]
In December 2023, it was announced that Wharton would be leaving the FDA going into the 2024 season.[68]
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Australian
