The Italian Grand Prix at Monza hosted the final round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship. The “Temple of Speed”, with its high-speed straights and minimal corner count, once again delivered a demanding weekend.
Free Practice got underway at a steady pace, with ART Grand Prix driver James Wharton joining the track a few minutes into the session and setting an early benchmark of 1:56.922 as he proceeded to warm up his tyres. The session was then halted with a red flag, triggered by Rodin driver Roman Bilinski, forcing Wharton and the rest of the field to reset their run plans. Action resumed after a 15-minute stoppage, with the Australian improving to a 1:41.528 before closing the session in P29 (1:41.473). A late yellow flag, caused by Fernando Barrichello, prevented any further progress.
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On the same day, the Qualifying session followed the usual split-group format (Group A and B) to manage traffic. With an odd car number (#9), Wharton was placed in Group A. With just 10 minutes on the clock per group, managing out-laps, push laps and traffic proved challenging. Wharton ultimately posted a 1:39.473, securing P22 on the combined grid.
On Saturday, the Sprint Race opened with drama as contact on the main straight eliminated Ivan Domingues and brought out the Safety Car. Wharton gained one position at the start, moving from P22 to P21, and held station after the restart on lap 4. Mid-race incidents, including contact between Wurz and Badoer at Turn 1, which triggered another Safety Car, reshuffled the order, with Wharton climbing back to P21 after briefly dropping to P23. He crossed the line in P19, later promoted to P16 after a series of post-race penalties were applied to other drivers by the Race Direction.
In the Feature Race, the last race of the season, Wharton made a clean start and held his position off the line. An early Safety Car was deployed on lap 1 after Charlie Wurz retired. Further neutralizations of the race followed due to incidents involving Barrichello and Ugochukwu. Wharton gained ground each time, steadily progressing up the order. The closing laps were chaotic with multiple retirements, and the Australian kept it clean to finish P16, a gain of six places from his starting position.
© 2025 Dutch Photo Agency
“It’s been a really tough season, not the one we expected or hoped for, but there are still positives to take away. The win in Austria showed that whenever we have the pace, we can deliver strong results. Now the focus shifts to next year: I need to put my head down and work hard in preparation for 2026. I’m truly grateful to ART Grand Prix, to my sponsors, Hejaz among them, and to all the fans for their incredible support. Competing in FIA Formula 3 is a privilege, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds”, James Wharton said.
The Aussie’s rookie campaign in FIA Formula 3 started uphill but gathered momentum as the year unfolded. Once fully adapted to the new car, James delivered standout performances, including a Sprint Race victory in Austria (ART Grand Prix’ only win of the season) and a superb wet-weather comeback from P20 to P6 at Silverstone. Wharton ends the 2025 season with 25 points, finishing 17th in the Drivers’ Standings.