James Wharton (racing driver)

James Wharton
Wharton in 2024
Nationality	Australian
Born	(2006-07-08) 8 July 2006 (age 18) Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Formula Regional European Championship career
Debut season	2024
Current team	Prema Racing
Car number	13
Starts	19 (20 entries)
Wins	4
Podiums	10
Poles	5
Fastest laps	2
Best finish	2nd in 2024
Previous series
2024 2024 2023 2022–2023 2022 2022–2023	GB3 Championship FR Middle East Championship Euro 4 Championship Italian F4 Championship ADAC Formula 4 Formula 4 UAE Championship
Championship titles
2023	Formula 4 UAE Championship

James Anthony Wharton (born 8 July 2006) is an Australian racing driver who is set to compete in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship for ART Grand Prix.

Wharton was the runner-up for the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship, driving for Prema Racing. He was a race winner in Italian F4, finishing fourth in 2023. He was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy between 2021 and 2023.

Career

Karting

Born in Bundoora in 2006, 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. 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. ^[1]

Formula 4

2022

Wharton at Spa-Francorchamps during the 2022 ADAC Formula 4 Championship

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. ^[2] The Australian dominated the first Dubai event, scoring three victories, and won the season-ending race at Yas Marina, taking home fifth in the standings. ^[3]

Wharton at the Red Bull Ring during the 2022 Italian F4 Championship

He remained with Prema for the European racing season, driving in the Italian F4 and ADAC F4 championships. ^[4] Just like during the winter, Wharton ended up fifth in both series, having obtained his only victory at the Nürburgring.^{[ citation needed ]}

2023

Wharton at the Mugello Circuit during the 2023 Italian F4 Championship.

Wharton once again partook in F4 UAE at the beginning of 2023, being part of the Mumbai Falcons. ^[5] After a consistent campaign, which included four wins and a total of eleven podiums across 15 races, the Australian clinched the title as a result of a last-round collision with title rival and teammate Tuukka Taponen. ^{[6] [7]}

His European campaign with Prema in the Italian F4 Championship proved to be more challenging, as Wharton would end the year fourth in the standings despite a pair of wins at Spa-Francorchamps. ^{[8] [9]} He also ended up finishing second in the three-round Euro 4 Championship with two wins and three further podiums, missing out on the title to teammate Ugo Ugochukwu. ^[10]

Formula Regional

In the 2024 pre-season, Wharton partook in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship with Mumbai Falcons. ^[11]

Wharton driving at the Hungaroring during the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship

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. ^[12]

Wharton participated in the 2024 Macau Grand Prix with ART Grand Prix. ^[13] 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. ^[14]

GB3 Championship

Wharton was signed by Fortec Motorsports to participate in the two Silverstone rounds of the 2024 GB3 Championship. ^[15]

FIA Formula 3 Championship

2024

After Martinius Stenshorne was banned from the Silverstone round, Wharton was drafted by Hitech Pulse-Eight to make a one-off appearance there in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship. ^[16]

2025

In October 2024, ART Grand Prix announced that Wharton will be racing for them in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship, alongside Laurens van Hoepen and former Ferrari Driver Academy member Tuukka Taponen. ^[17]

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. ^[18]

In December 2023, it was announced that Wharton would be leaving the FDA going into the 2024 season. ^[19]

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2015	SKUSA SuperNationals — TaG Cadet		43rd
2016	Australian Kart Championship — Cadet 12		4th
	SKUSA SuperNationals — Mini Swift	Kartsport North America	26th
	Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Mini MAX	International Karting Distribution	15th
2017	Australian Kart Championship — Cadet 12		1st
	ROK Cup International Final — Mini ROK	Parolin Racing Team	7th
	SKUSA SuperNationals — Mini Swift	KartSport North America	14th
	Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Mini MAX	Int Karting Distributors	3rd
2018	South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ	Parolin Racing Kart	32nd
	Victorian Kart Championship — KA3 Junior		2nd
	Rotax Max Challenge Euro Trophy — Junior		2nd
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ	Parolin Racing Kart	NC
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ		13th
	WSK Final Cup — OKJ		7th
	SKUSA SuperNationals — KA100 Junior	KartSport North America	1st
	SKUSA SuperNationals — X30 Junior		18th
2019	WSK Champions Cup — OKJ	Ricky Flynn Motorsport	5th
	South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ		2nd
	WSK Super Master Series — OKJ		9th
	WSK Euro Series — OKJ		9th
	IAME Euro Series — X30 Junior	Piers Sexton Racing	49th
	Italian Championship — OKJ		4th
	Coupe de France — OKJ		11th
	German Karting Championship — Junior	Ricky Flynn Motorsport	12th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ		9th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ	Parolin Racing Kart	31st
	Trofeo delle Industrie — OKJ		4th
	IAME International Final — X30 Junior		13th
	WSK Open Cup — OKJ		13th
	WSK Final Cup — OKJ		7th
	SKUSA SuperNationals — KA100 Junior		3rd
	SKUSA SuperNationals — X30 Junior		1st
2020	WSK Champions Cup — OK	Parolin Racing Kart	31st
	South Garda Winter Cup — OK		11th
	WSK Super Master Series — OK		18th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OK		20th
	WSK Euro Series — OK		7th
	Champions of the Future — OK		32nd
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OK		17th
2021	WSK Champions Cup — OK	Parolin Motorsport	33rd
	WSK Super Master Series — KZ2		34th
	WSK Super Master Series — OK		36th
	WSK Euro Series — OK		25th
	Champions of the Future — OK		29th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OK		23rd
	CIK-FIA European Championship — KZ2		15th
	CIK-FIA Karting International Super Cup — KZ2		5th
Sources: [20] [21]

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2018	Parolin Racing Kart	OKJ	SAR QH	SAR R	PFI QH 41	PFI R DNQ	AMP QH	AMP R	LEM QH	LEM R	NC	0
2019	Ricky Flynn Motorsport	OKJ	ANG QH 2	ANG R DNS	GEN QH 47	GEN R DNQ	KRI QH 14	KRI R 9	LEM QH 4	LEM R 5	9th	34
2020	Parolin Racing Kart	OK	ZUE QH 39	ZUE R DNQ	SAR QH 27	SAR R 12	WAC QH 33	WAC R 26			20th	4
2021	Parolin Motorsport	OK	GEN QH 14	GEN R 14	AUB QH 38	AUB R DNQ	SAR QH 21	SAR R 12	ZUE QH 34	ZUE R 20	23rd	7
		KZ2	WAC QH 26	WAC R 8	GEN QH 42	GEN R DNQ					15th	8

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2022	Formula 4 UAE Championship	Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema	16	4	3	4	5	168	5th
	Italian F4 Championship	Prema Racing	20	0	0	0	5	166	5th
	ADAC Formula 4 Championship		15	1	0	2	3	146	5th
2023	Formula 4 UAE Championship	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	15	4	4	5	11	232	1st
	Italian F4 Championship	Prema Racing	21	2	3	2	8	205.5	4th
	Euro 4 Championship		9	2	1	1	5	169	2nd
2024	Formula Regional Middle East Championship	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	15	0	0	0	2	111	6th
	Formula Regional European Championship	Prema Racing	19	4	5	2	10	236	2nd
	GB3 Championship	Fortec Motorsports	5	0	0	0	0	30	25th
	FIA Formula 3 Championship	Hitech Pulse-Eight	2	0	0	0	0	0	33rd
	Macau Grand Prix	ART Grand Prix	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
2025	FIA Formula 3 Championship	ART Grand Prix	0	0	0	0	0	0	TBD

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pos	Points
2022	Prema Racing	YMC1 1 3	YMC1 2 5	YMC1 3 24	YMC1 4 9	DUB1 1 1	DUB1 2 1	DUB1 3 1	DUB1 4 6	DUB2 1	DUB2 2	DUB2 3	DUB2 4	DUB3 1 8	DUB3 2 11	DUB3 3 10	DUB3 4 4	YMC2 1 Ret	YMC2 2 14	YMC2 3 4	YMC2 4 1	5th	168
2023	Mumbai Falcons	DUB1 1 3	DUB1 2 17	DUB1 3 4	KMT1 1 1	KMT1 2 2	KMT1 3 13	KMT2 1 2	KMT2 2 2	KMT2 3 1	DUB2 1 2	DUB2 2 2	DUB2 3 3	YMC 1 1	YMC 2 1	YMC 3 Ret						1st	232

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	DC	Points
2022	Prema Racing	SPA 1 Ret	SPA 2 3	SPA 3 9	HOC 1 18	HOC 2 6	HOC 3 Ret	ZAN 1 5	ZAN 2 4	ZAN 3 6	NÜR1 1 4	NÜR1 2 5	NÜR1 3 1	LAU 1	LAU 2	LAU 3	NÜR2 1 3	NÜR2 2 5	NÜR2 3 4	5th	146

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	DC	Points
2022	Prema Racing	IMO 1 4	IMO 2 3	IMO 3 9	MIS 1 5	MIS 2 3	MIS 3 29†	SPA 1 3	SPA 2 5	SPA 3 Ret	VLL 1 3	VLL 2 7	VLL 3 4	RBR 1 2	RBR 2 6	RBR 3	RBR 4 4	MNZ 1 30†	MNZ 2 15	MNZ 3 C	MUG 1 Ret	MUG 2 7	MUG 3 5	5th	166
2023	Prema Racing	IMO 1 23†	IMO 2	IMO 3 5	IMO 4 12	MIS 1 3	MIS 2 2	MIS 3 28	SPA 1 1	SPA 2 1	SPA 3 3	MNZ 1 6	MNZ 2 5	MNZ 3 5	LEC 1 3	LEC 2 Ret	LEC 3 2	MUG 1 8	MUG 2 9	MUG 3 3	VLL 1 5	VLL 2 6	VLL 3 4	4th	205.5

Complete Euro 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	DC	Points
2023	Prema Racing	MUG 1 6	MUG 2 3	MUG 3 1	MNZ 1 3	MNZ 2 8	MNZ 3 Ret	CAT 1 3	CAT 2 1	CAT 3 4	2nd	169

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	DC	Points
2024	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	YMC1 1 4	YMC1 2 24	YMC1 3 7	YMC2 1 5	YMC2 2 Ret	YMC2 3 5	DUB1 1 28†	DUB1 2 12	DUB1 3 5	YMC3 1 5	YMC3 2 4	YMC3 3 2	DUB2 1 6	DUB2 2 3	DUB2 3 11	6th	111

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2024	Prema Racing	HOC 1 3	HOC 2 Ret	SPA 1 DNS	SPA 2 3	ZAN 1 13	ZAN 2 14	HUN 1 6	HUN 2 4	MUG 1 7	MUG 2 1	LEC 1 6	LEC 2 9	IMO 1 3	IMO 2 3	RBR 1 1	RBR 2 5	CAT 1 1	CAT 2 1	MNZ 1 3	MNZ 2 3	2nd	236

^* Season still in progress.

Complete GB3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	DC	Points
2024	Fortec Motorsports	OUL 1	OUL 2	OUL 3	SIL1 1 20	SIL1 2 11	SIL1 3 C	SPA 1	SPA 2	SPA 3	HUN 1	HUN 2	HUN 3	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	ZAN 3	SIL2 1 11	SIL2 2 15	SIL2 3 15	DON 1	DON 2	DON 3	BRH 1	BRH 2	BRH 3	25th	30

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Year	Team	Car	Qualifying	Quali Race	Main race
2024	ART Grand Prix	Tatuus F3 T-318	11th	7th	DNF

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2024	Hitech Pulse-Eight	BHR SPR	BHR FEA	MEL SPR	MEL FEA	IMO SPR	IMO FEA	MON SPR	MON FEA	CAT SPR	CAT FEA	RBR SPR	RBR FEA	SIL SPR 18	SIL FEA 21	HUN SPR	HUN FEA	SPA SPR	SPA FEA	MNZ SPR	MNZ FEA	33rd	0
2025	ART Grand Prix	BHR SPR	BHR FEA	MEL SPR	MEL FEA	IMO SPR	IMO FEA	MON SPR	MON FEA	CAT SPR	CAT FEA	RBR SPR	RBR FEA	SIL SPR	SIL FEA	SPA SPR	SPA FEA	HUN SPR	HUN FEA	MNZ SPR	MNZ FEA	TBD	TBD

References

1. Studenkov, Alexander (28 June 2022). "Ferrari prospect James Wharton reflects on his personal growth: 'Last year I had a lot to learn'". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
2. "PREMA, Abu Dhabi Racing enter 2022 F4 UAE Season". Prema Powerteam . 17 January 2022. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022.
3. Parker, Charlie (30 January 2022). "4 takeaways from F4 UAE Round 2: James Wharton dominates & Tatuus shows great racing". Feeder Series. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
4. "Ferrari Driver Academy underway for 2022". Ferrari . 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
5. "First entries announced for 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship Certified by FIA". F4 UAE Championship Certified by FIA. 29 December 2022.
6. "WHARTON: WHAT NEXT FOR FDA GUN?". autoaction.com.au/. 23 February 2023.
7. Brabner, George (20 February 2023). "Wharton wins title in dramatic finale: 4 takeaways from F4 UAE Round 5". feederseries.net.
8. "Wharton set for second Formula 4 campaign with PREMA". Prema Team. 9 November 2022.
9. Spadi, Daniele (21 December 2023). "Ferrari Driver Academy: 2023 driver-by-driver review". Feeder Series. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
10. "Ugo Ugochukwu is the first Champion of the Euro 4 Championship". KartXpress. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
11. Wood, Ida (8 January 2024). "Prema reveals it and Mumbai Falcons' line-ups for FRME and F4 UAE". Formula Scout. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
12. Wood, Ida (3 January 2024). "James Wharton steps up to FREC with Prema". Formula Scout. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
13. "James Wharton to compete in the 2024 Macau Grand Prix with ART GP". james-wharton.com. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
14. Wood, Ida (17 November 2024). "Ugochukwu takes FRegional World Cup by winning the Macau GP". Formula Scout. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
15. Wood, Ida (18 April 2024). "James Wharton joins Fortec for GB3's Silverstone rounds". Formula Scout. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
16. "James Wharton to drive for Hitech Pulse-Eight at Silverstone". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
17. "James Wharton confirmed by ART Grand Prix for 2025 season". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
18. Lee (9 December 2020). "Karting Australia - VICTORIAN JAMES WHARTON WINS FERRARI DRIVER ACADEMY SELECTION". Karting Australia. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
19. "A year of laying the groundwork with ambitious goals for 2024". www.ferrari.com. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
20. "James Wharton | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
21. kartcom (19 October 2016). "Wharton James" . Retrieved 6 May 2022.

External links

• James Wharton career summary at DriverDB.com