James Wharton secured his maiden victory of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, executing a faultless Sprint Race to bring PREMA Racing back to the top step of the podium in the series for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix in 2024.
The Catalan venue once again proved to be a stronghold for the Australian, who had already demonstrated his affinity with the track in previous categories. Notably, during his Formula Regional campaign, Wharton dominated the weekend with pole position and race wins, underlining his confidence on Spanish soil.
The weekend began with a challenging Qualifying session, where Wharton placed P11, setting up a front-row start for the Sprint Race due to the reverse grid format. Lining up alongside Gerrard Xie, Wharton initially made a great launch off the line, but ultimately ending up losing a position to Freddie Slater as he tried taking the lead.
James had to wait just two more laps to pull off a sensational pass on Slater going into turn 1, and one lap later he also sailed past Xie to grab first place.
From there, the PREMA driver showcased strong race management and consistent pace, gradually building a safe margin at the front. Safety Car interventions erased the gap twice, setting up high-pressure restarts. However, Wharton executed two perfectly timed accelerations out of the final high-speed corner, catching the field off-guard and maintaining control to the chequered flag.
The result marked not only his first win of the season but also his first points on the board, providing a crucial boost to both driver and team.
Sunday’s Feature Race proved more conservative. Starting from P11, Wharton opted for a measured approach, avoiding unnecessary risks in a tightly contested midfield battle and bringing the car home in the same position to secure valuable data and consistency.
«It was a very strong weekend in Barcelona. Finally got the result we've been working for this year, but at the same time there's still a lot of work to go to be at the front in qualifying. We maximised the weekend and got the sprint race win, but we're definitely looking for more. And now we need to keep pushing for the Red Bull Ring where I won last year and try to build from that and hopefully qualify a little bit further up for the Sunday race», James Wharton said.
Overall, the Barcelona round yielded 11 points for Wharton, placing him 14th in the Drivers’ Championship standings as momentum began to build. Attention now shifts to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, which will host the next round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship from June 26–28.