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