James Wharton on his rise to F3, racing with his best friends and hopes for the rest of 2025

James Wharton’s first few months in Formula 3 have not gone to plan, but the ART Grand Prix rookie is confident that his results will turn around in the second half of the 2025 season.

The Australian did not score a point through the first four rounds of the year, but his form improved in Barcelona, where he finished eighth in the Sprint Race.

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It gave Wharton his first three points of the season, a good start as he looks to build momentum going into the second half of the campaign.

“Overall, it's been quite a tough start to the year for me,” reflects Wharton. “We did a lot of pre-season testing, a lot of testing in the old car and it felt super comfortable.

"But going into the new car, it's been a little bit more challenging, but we've been going step-by-step each weekend. I'm still quite comfortable knowing that I will make a step sometime this year and there will be results coming.

“I am still definitely in the mindset that I will have a good end to the year and a good next few rounds, and I still quite optimistic we will do a good job.”

LEAVING A FAMILIAR PLACE FOR A NEW ENVIRONMENT

Wharton’s previous experience in the old F3 car came at Round 7 of the 2024 season at Silverstone, as well as the two post-season tests in Jerez and Barcelona.

Teammate Tuukka Taponen did the same, except he made his debut at Spa-Francorchamps weeks later and with ART, while Wharton’s first outing was with Hitech.

So, the opening round in Melbourne was the young driver’s maiden race weekend with the French outfit, having spent the entirety of his single seater career with PREMA Racing.

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It is a big change, but one Wharton concedes he might have needed.

“It's probably the hardest thing of 2025, changing teams,” Wharton said. “I had the same engineer for three years at PREMA. I feel like I am the only driver in junior formulas to have had the same engineer over three seasons and that was something I knew was going to be a challenge.

“But I feel like I've done a very good job with my engineer at ART, and we've worked really well together to improve the relationship, and to get better and better every week.

“At the same time, it's very difficult to go from a team where you've grown up since you were 13 years old till you were 17. It's something that needed to happen, because maybe I was a bit too comfortable at PREMA.

“When it's more like a family and you've been there for so long, you can get comfortable. Moving to a new team, I had to reset. I had to meet new people and learn how to work with new people. I think it's one of the biggest things in motorsport, adapting to different people.”

CLOSEST FRIENDS AND RIVALS

What has impressed Wharton so far about ART is that despite that tough start, there has been no finger pointing within the camp, as he also thanked the entire team, especially Team Principal Sébastien Philippe for giving him the chance to race in F3.

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But that is also part of his frustration about the season so far, that he has not been able to give the team the results they deserve, while also watching a familiar face have plenty of success.

“Rafael Câmara’s doing well, and he has been my teammate a couple of times,” said Wharton. “He beat me the first time by quite a bit, but the second year I was right behind him.

“The last six months of last year, I did a better job and I had more points in the second half of the season. It is very frustrating for me, especially with the year I've had so far, to see them at the front.

“But then again, it gives me confidence that if I do my job and I have that one thing that needs to click, I am sure I will get the results and I will be at the front straight away.

“It works in different ways, on the one hand it’s frustration. But also, I know I can get there, and it won't be long until I get there and I am racing them for the wins.”

Câmara is someone Wharton has known for a very long time, as are many of the drivers on the grid. Having left his family in Australia behind at 10-years-old to race in Europe, many of his rivals through the years have become close friends.

“It is kind of crazy, because at the end of the day, my best mates are the people I race against,” he said. “Ugo Ugochukwu, Arvid Lindblad, Tuukka, and Rafa, I ended up living with for how many years.

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“So, to race against people that you have lived with, that are your best friends, it's also something you have to try and control. One year one of us beat the other, and once every year, I feel like a new person beats the others.

“It's super cool because it makes you realise how far we have come, especially when you look back at photos from when we were younger. I’m just super grateful for the people I have met as well. I enjoy coming to the track, even outside of the racing, because at the end of the day, you see your best friends here.”

GOING IT ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME

Unlike those four drivers though, Wharton is not currently attached to a Formula 1 team, having left the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy at the end of 2023.

Talking about his time at Maranello, Wharton looks back on it all fondly and with gratitude at how they helped “build” him as a driver and at the chance he had to experience the Ferrari culture.

But now he is on his own, and it feels different.

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“There is a bit more freedom,” Wharton remarks. “But there are pros and cons with everything, that's why there are decisions all the time. For me the weirdest thing was having no one pushing you.

“When you are there, someone is behind you, telling you to do things and telling you to work harder. But when you are without an academy, it's more like your own determination will get you your own results.”

But having spent the last year on his own, the Australian says, “I feel really good at the moment and off track, this is the best I've ever been.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE 2024 SEASON

That positivity has been aided by his 2024 season in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, where he finished second in the Standings behind Champion, Câmara.

Being his first campaign in single seaters without the backing of Ferrari, Wharton took immense pride in this result, as those 10 podiums and four wins were achieved under a lot of pressure.

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“It's a different kind of pressure you have being away from them, it's up to you now,” he said. “Having an F1 team behind you can make your life a bit easier. It takes a bit of pressure from your results, because you have an academy behind you.

“If you have a bad weekend, you can go again the next weekend and show them you are still doing well. But when you are alone, you have to take it week by week. You do the best job possible and hope to get them to see you again. So last year was super important to get results and I did.”

RETURNING TO FORM IN THE SECOND HALF

That result, alongside his junior formula record, which includes being the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Champion, are what give Wharton the confidence that he can still turn his 2025 season around.

With five rounds to go, the ART rookie is refusing to look at the Drivers’ Standings – where he is currently 25th – as a few good weekends could change the whole conversation.

“For me, I've won Championships, and I've been fighting for Championships for so many years,” he continued. “This is the first year it hasn't happened, but at the end of the day, I know results bring points and, in this sport, three results can change your career if you do a good job.

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“I am not really focused on the Championship. At the end of the day, top five is still possible, so is top three. I am still just focused on doing that special thing to get people to see who I am and what I can do.

“I am also focused on getting good results and showing people the little bit that I can. Hopefully over the next few weekends I can show to people what I can do. “