F3: James Wharton claimed his first career victory.
James Wharton won the Saturday Formula 3 sprint race in Austria. The ART GP driver became the first Australian since Jack Doohan in 2021 to stand on the top step of the podium in this junior series.
On Saturday morning in Spielberg, the sun was shining, the air temperature had warmed up to +22°C by the start of the race, the asphalt to +32°C, and a large number of fans had already gathered in the stands.
At the start of the formation lap, Bruno del Pino couldn’t get away from his ninth spot right away, but eventually set off and took up his position on the grid. Pole-sitter James Wharton launched confidently and maintained the lead, although Giusti tried to challenge him into Turn 3.
Charlie Wurz and Brando Badoer battled intensively for third place, with Wurz managing to stay ahead. In the top ten, Nikola Tsolov made up the most positions (4), moving up to eighth.
On the second lap of twenty-one, yellow flags appeared on track and the safety car was deployed. The reason was Tuukka Taponen’s retirement in Turn 3 after contact with Louis Sharp and Christian Ho. All three retired as a result, but Ho was able to drive back to the pit lane under his own power.
The race resumed on lap five. The top six retained their positions at the restart, and Tsolov overtook Callum Voisin for seventh place. On lap six, Badoer made a mistake at the exit from Turn 1 and dropped from fourth to fifth, allowing Ugo Ugochukwu through.
On lap seven, in Turn 3, there was contact between Del Pino and Brad Benavides. Both cars sustained damage, but both drivers managed to reach the pits on their own. Del Pino rejoined the race, while Benavides retired due to car damage.
On lap eight, Giusti attempted to attack Wharton in Turn 4, but the ART driver defended his lead. Martinius Stenshorne set the fastest lap, which no one was able to beat until the finish.
On lap nine, Tsolov overtook season leader Camara for sixth position. On the following lap, Camara tried to counterattack, but Tsolov firmly defended, Rafael clipped the gravel with his wheels at the exit of Turn 4 and dropped to ninth.
On lap thirteen, Badoer attacked Ugochukwu for fourth at Turn 3, but braked too late and hit Wurz, who was in third. Charlie, with a damaged car, remained stationary at the exit from the corner, so the safety car came out again. Badoer had his front wing replaced and continued in the race.
The restart was given with four laps to go. Wharton got away cleanly and kept the lead. In the fight for third, Tsolov attacked Ugochukwu but almost lost out to Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak himself.
James Wharton confidently brought the race home to claim his first victory. Alessandro Giusti stepped onto the podium for the second time in his career, achieving his best result. Ugo Ugochukwu delivered Prema’s first podium of the season.
Nikola Tsolov finished fourth and closed the gap to Rafael Camara in the individual standings, who earned a single point for tenth place.
Added
After the finish, the stewards penalized Ugo Ugochukwu with a ten-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage over Tsolov. Ugo dropped from third to sixteenth place.
Driver
Team
Laps
1. J. Wharton
ART Grand Prix
21
2. A. Giusti
MP Motorsport
21
3. N. Tsolov
Campos Racing
21
4. T. Inthraphuvasak
Campos Racing
21
5. M. Boya
Campos Racing
21
6. T. Tramnitz
MP Motorsport
21
7. M. Stenshorne
Hitech TGR
21
8. C. Voisin
Rodin Motorsport
21
9. R. Camara
Trident
21
10. N. Leon
Prema Racing
21
11. T. Nael
Van Amersfoort Racing
21
12. L. van Hoepen
ART Grand Prix
21
13. S. Ramos
Van Amersfoort Racing
21
14. D. Carracedo
Hitech TGR
21
15. R. Bilinski
Rodin Motorsport
21
16. U. Ugochukwu
Prema Racing
21
17. M. Zagazeta
DAMS Lucas Oil
21
18. N. Johnson
DAMS Lucas Oil
21
19. N. Marinangeli
AIX Racing
21
20. D. Hedley
AIX Racing
21
21. N. Stromsted
Trident
21
22. J. Si
Hitech TGR
21
23. B. del Pino
MP Motorsport
21
24. B. Badoer
Prema Racing
21
-. C. Wurz
Trident
12
-. B. Benavides
AIX Racing
8
-. I. Dominguez
Van Amersfoort Racing
7
-. C. Ho
DAMS Lucas Oil
2
-. T. Taponen
ART Grand Prix
1
-. L. Sharp
Rodin Motorsport
1
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