Sharp ‘feeling good’ ahead of opening round at ‘tricky’ Melbourne circuit

Louis Sharp is in good spirits ahead of the opening round of the 2026 season, believing he and PREMA Racing are in a fine position to go racing in Melbourne after a positive winter program.

The New Zealand driver is about to start his second campaign in Formula 3, switching to the Italian outfit for upcoming year.

After a good post and pre-season test with PREMA, as well as a solid four weeks of racing on home soil in the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy – where he finished third in the Standings – Sharp is ready to go racing in Melbourne.

“I’m feeling good,” said Sharp. “I'm excited. I think the start of the championship has been a long time coming. I've waited a long time, so I'm really excited.

“I think the preparation during the off season with PREMA has been really strong. I'm just looking forward to getting out there and getting started, and obviously, Melbourne is a very, very unique circuit.”

“PREMA are a really good team, they have given me a good environment to be able to go out there and go out there and succeed.

“Obviously, it's just the first round, we don't know exactly where we're going to be, but I'm confident in the job that the team's doing and I'm confident in the job we're doing as well.”

“So, I'm just looking forward to going out there and giving it everything. Last year was a difficult season for me, so I've got a lot to build on. There are a few areas I need to improve, but I think with PREMA now, I'm in a good environment to go out there and make the most of it.”

Having raced around Albert Park in 2025 – finishing P18 in the Sprint Race and P14 in the Feature – Sharp was asked what he felt made Melbourne such a “unique circuit”.

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“It's a pretty tricky venue to go to for the first round,” he explained. “I think being a street track makes it tough, but also quite a unique circuit, different to a lot of others.

“I think the important thing is just to use the experience I have around this place. I've only raced here once but compared to some of the rookies they haven't been here before.

“I think that will be a little bit of an advantage, so I need to make the most of that and then try to keep it clean.

“Obviously, laps are super important here. The more laps, the more mileage, the more learning you can do, the better. I need to keep it clean, make no mistakes, be consistent and then just work from there.”

Sharp will especially not want to make a mistake in Qualifying which he says takes on greater importance this weekend given the tight nature of the track.

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“Qualifying is always super important, but this track especially, overtaking is hard. Obviously, it's the first round, it’s a street circuit, there's also high chance of Red Flags and Safety Cars.

“So actual overtaking opportunities, there won't be that many, because it’s possible that we don't do a full race in terms of laps. Qualifying is therefore super important, just with how difficult it is to overtake.

“If you qualify in the top 10, you're going to finish both races in the top 10. So, I'm just looking forward to getting started and getting out there. The feeling is positive.”