Wharton aiming for Spielberg repeat after top 10 in Budapest Qualifying

1 August 2025

ART Grand Prix’s James Wharton was pleased to be back inside the top 10 in Budapest Qualifying. The Australian was contending in the top positions for much of the session on Friday, and found an improvement with his final attempt to go 10th quickest around the Hungaroring.

Speaking afterwards, the ART driver said that it had been a strong session considering the pitfalls that caught others out. He says the French squad was able to maximise the majority of their flying lap attempts, delivering their drivers clear track when it counted.

“For me overall, the session wasn’t too chaotic,” Wharton explained. “I was always in a good spot thanks to the team, so credit to them for putting me out into the right spot every time. Maybe we went a little bit early on the last set, but I feel like it was the right decision.

“Always had clean air, always in the right spot so overall happy to be where we are in Qualifying. FP was definitely a bit of struggle this morning, and I wasn’t quite in the window with the driving. So I wasn’t super confident going into Qualifying.

“In the first run I made a really good step, second run was a little bit more difficult but then we put it all together for the last run.

Wharton was a winner in the Spielberg Sprint Race and is aiming to do the same again in Hungary

“It feels good going from one compound to a softer one for Qualifying. In FP, you feel like the car isn’t that good but then you put a new Medium on, and it feels completely different and more like a race car.”

The positive Qualifying in Budapest follows a tougher time in Spa-Francorchamps one weekend ago, in which ART wound up down the order. Laurens van Hoepen finished that session 19th, Wharton 20th and Tuukka Taponen in 29th.

The Australian driver says that the turnaround in a week is a big positive for the team to carry into the remainder of this weekend and the summer break. He added that they have the chance to prove they’re quick at the front, and it was about making the most of their opportunities.

“I think we’ve made a huge step from Spa, so credit to the team. I think it shows that we’re super fast on some tracks and still struggling a little bit around others. It’s always good to make that step and go faster when you don’t make mistakes, which is the hard part.

“It’s about maximising the weekends where we have the pace to be up front, so hopefully we can do a good job tomorrow inside the top two rows for the Sprint. And then hopefully it’s wet on Sunday.”

The ART driver says the team did well to maximise in a tough Qualifying session with space at a premium

With a Sprint Race win already under his belt from earlier this season, Wharton says he’s aiming to add to his victory tally in 2025 come Saturday.

Going from third on the reverse grid for the Sprint, he’s looking to make early moves and hold off the pack for another visit to the F3 podium before the break, whether that comes tomorrow or in Sunday’s Feature Race, where wet weather is potentially on the cards.

“Hopefully it’s dry tomorrow. For me, it’s just about maximising being at the front. It’s not happened too many times this year, but the first time we were I didn’t do too bad of a job. Hopefully it can be like that tomorrow, we just have to maximise the chances we have this year.

“We’ve still got some tough opposition in front. I think Tas will want his second win as well, but hopefully I can get him on the start.”