De Palo and Wharton penalised following Spa-Francorchamps Sprint Race

Following the conclusion of the FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps, Matteo De Palo and James Wharton have been assigned post-race penalties.

Firstly, the TRIDENT driver was alleged to have forced another driver off circuit in a battle with Car 31 of Gerrard Xie.

After the race, the Stewards examined video evidence and determined that Car 6 had forced Car 31 off the circuit at Turn 5, breaching Article 2(b) of Chapter IV, Appendix L of the 2026 FIA International Sporting Code.

As a result, the Stewards applied the standard 10-second time penalty for such an infringement.

Additionally, De Palo has also been handed a separate penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.

The Italian driver ran across the circuit at Turn 5 before rejoining after Turn 6 ahead of Car 28 of Fernando Barrichello, retaining his position in the process.

The Stewards examined the incident following the Sprint, reviewing available video evidence. They determined that Car 6 left the circuit defending his position against Barrichello and rejoined the track ahead of Car 28. He then failed to give up the position, breaching Article 27.3 of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Sporting Regulations.

As a result, they applied the standard 10-second time penalty. With both penalties applied, De Palo now finishes P28 in the final Sprint Race classification.

Finally, James Wharton has received multiple penalties for exceeding track limits.

The PREMA Racing driver was referred to the Stewards after several alleged breaches of track limits during the Sprint Race.

The Stewards determined that the Australian driver has gone beyond the while lines seven times, breaching Article 27.3 of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Sporting Regulations.

As a result, Wharton has been given four separate five-second time penalties in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 5 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules.

With the penalties applied, Wharton now finishes P27 in the Sprint Race.