After happening across a local karting track, Sharp's interest was piqued[6] and he started karting at age six[7] in 2014, driving in the Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship. He finished 18th in the Cadet class,[8] the next year he finished third in the same class.[9] Two years later Sharp won the championship in the same class, along with the Sievwright Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship, in the Cadet class.[1] In 2018, he finished as runner up in the Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship in the Mini ROK class and the following year he won the championship.[10][11]
These results caught the attention of David Dicker, founder of the New Zealand based racing car manufacturer Rodin Cars. Dicker, through Rodin, continue to back Sharp through his formula racing career.[1]
Lower formulae (2020–2021)
2020
Sharp stepped up into single-seater racing in 2020, making his debut in the Formula First Manfeild Winter Series. He won one race and achieved six podiums, finishing the championship in fifth with 375 points.[12] He also completed in the New Zealand Formula First Championship for Track Tec Racing, finishing the championship in fifth and ending his campaign with one podium.[13][14]
2021
The following year, Sharp drove in the Yokohama South Island Formula Ford Series, getting five wins, ten podiums and two pole positions. finishing fifth in the championship. Sharp was leading the championship before being called up by Carlin to compete in British F4.[15][16]
Sharp made another step up to the 2022 F4 British Championship with Carlin, partnering McLaren Junior DriverUgo Ugochukwu and Williams Junior DriverOliver Gray.[15] Sharp did not participate in the first round of the season at Donington Park due to still being 14 years old,[17] with the age limit of most Formula 4 series being set at 15.[18] In his first two rounds he got two podiums; third place in the third race at both Brands Hatch and Thruxton.[19][20] He got podiums in all three races at Round 4, Oulton Park, taking his first win in the series in the third race.[21] He took another podium with second place during the third race in Croft.[22] He was on a consistent points streak in Knockhill and Snetterton until making contact with Aiden Neate during the third race at Snetterton, while fighting for a top ten position.[23] Sharp added two more third places in the first and third races at Thruxton.[24][25] In Silverstone, Sharp got his second win of the season in the first race, after original race winner Gray was penalised.[26] Sharp came third in the reverse-grid race, but stalled on the grid and consequently retired from the third race.[27][28] The first race in the final round at Brands Hatch did not go well for Sharp, as he retired after his car caught fire.[29] He rounded out the remaining races with two podium finishes.[30][31] Sharp finished fourth in the championship despite not competing in the first round, narrowly pipping Joseph Loake to fourthin the championship standings with 272 points.
Sharp returned to the F4 British Championship in 2023, rejoining the newly rebranded Rodin Carlin team in hopes of winning the title, and was teammates with Australian Noah Lisle and Brit Josh Irfan.[16][18] Sharp started the season by taking victory in the first two races in the opening round in Donington Park.[35][36] Following a pair of fourth places in Brands Hatch, Sharp placed third during the final race in Snetterton.[37] This was followed by a double third place in Thruxton, but lost the championship lead to William Macintyre following Silverstone.[38] Nevertheless, he returend to winning ways with a double triumph in Croft.[39][40] The gap widened after a lone podium in Knockhill,[41] but a win and two further podiums in Donington Park meant Sharp retook the lead by a single point heading into the season finale.[42] A win and a further podium there allowed Sharp to become champion by 13 points, he achieved six wins, four poles and fourteen podiums throughout the season.[3][43][44][45] As the British F4 Champion Sharp also won an experience in the Simulator of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.[46]
Motorsport News voted Sharp as (British) National Racing Driver of the Year for 2023, becoming the youngest ever driver to win the award, the first from outside Europe and the first single seater winner. He was also awarded the Henry Surtees Award, an accolade handed out by the British Racing Drivers' Club for the most outstanding performance by a member of the BRDC Rising Stars initiative.[47][48][49]
Sharp was announced to drive for Kiwi-team Rodin Motorsport for the 2024 GB3 Championship,[50] which was the main sponsor of Rodin Carlin and had taken over the team in early 2024.[51][52] Sharp started his campaign with a pole position at the first race of the first round at Oulton Park, he converted his maiden pole to a maiden win and got his second pole position in the next race, finishing that race in second place.[53][54][55] Following two podiums at Spa-Francorchamps,[56][57] Sharp achieved his second win of the season at the Hungaroring,[58] and added two more podiums in Silverstone next time out.[59][60] Sharp got two more pole positions at the penultimate round in Donington Park which he converted to wins.[61] He led the championship by 33 points coming into the final round at Brands Hatch, with his closest rivals being Briton John Bennett and PoleTymek Kucharczyk.[62] By securing a win in the second race,[63] a tenth place in the final race allowed him to secure the title; he took five wins, five poles, ten podiums and 478 points throughout the season.[64][65]
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New Zealander
British
