F3: James Wharton brought Prema its first victory since 2024.
James Wharton won the Formula 3 sprint race in Barcelona on Saturday. Alongside him on the podium were Freddy Slater and Gérard Si.
On Saturday morning, it was sunny and dry in Barcelona. By the time of the start, the air had warmed up to +26°C, and the asphalt temperature was +37°C. Taito Kato, who was supposed to start eighth, was unable to go out for the warm-up lap. The marshals quickly pushed his car back to the pit lane. At the end of the warm-up lap, Mattia Colnaghi turned into the pit lane due to car problems.
At the start, Gérard Si struggled to maintain his lead against James Wharton’s attacks, who was overtaken by Freddy Slater in the fifth corner. Behind them, in the battle for sixth place, Bruno del Pino passed Ernesto Rivera.
On the third lap of twenty-one, Wharton attacked Slater in the first corner and regained second place. By this time, Si had pulled away from the peloton by 1.5 seconds. At the end of the third lap, José Garfias stopped on the track after going off but was able to continue. Colnaghi, who started from the pit lane, returned to the boxes.
James Wharton quickly closed the gap to Si, set the fastest lap, and successfully attacked in the first corner on the fifth lap, after which he took the lead in the race.
At the end of the lap, Rivera's car lost speed, and the Campos driver retired. The virtual safety car was deployed on the track. However, before this happened, Slater managed to overtake Si in the battle for second place.
Removing Rivera's car from the track proved to be not so easy, so a real safety car was deployed at the beginning of the ninth lap.
The race resumed on the eleventh lap. The drivers in the leading group maintained their positions, although Slater was actively pressuring leader Wharton.
On the thirteenth lap, in a battle with Enzo Deligny for sixth place, championship leader Hugo Ugochukwu lost control of his car in the third corner, went off the track, and got stuck in the gravel. The safety car was deployed for the second time.
The restart was given on the seventeenth lap. In the top ten, only Luis Sharp overtook Brando Badoer in the battle for ninth place, who received a 10-second penalty for pushing Rivera off the track.
Behind them, Matteo de Palo went off the track after contact with Pedro Clero's car but was able to return to the fight. Nicola Lacorte received a 5-second penalty for a false start.
On the last lap, Si attempted to attack Slater in the first corner but nearly lost third place to Taponen.
Ahead, James Wharton brought the race to victory, giving the Prema team its first win in Formula 3 since Monaco 2024. For the Australian driver, this victory was his second career win, and the points earned for first place and the fastest lap were his first of the season.
Thanks to his second place, Freddy Slater tied on points with championship leader Hugo Ugochukwu. Gérard Si climbed onto the podium for the second time this season after winning the sprint in Monaco.
Driver
Team
Laps
1. J. Wharton
Prema Racing
21
2. F. Slater
Trident
21
3. G. Si
DAMS Lucas Oil
21
4. T. Taponen
MP Motorsport
21
5. E. Deligny
Van Amersfoort Racing
21
6. B. del Pino
Van Amersfoort Racing
21
7. H. Yamakoshi
Van Amersfoort Racing
21
8. T. Nael
Campos Racing
21
9. L. Sharp
Prema Racing
21
10. N. Stromsted
Trident
21
11. A. Giusti
MP Motorsport
21
12. M. Gladys
ART Grand Prix
21
13. P. Clero
Rodin Motorsport
21
14. K. Li
ART Grand Prix
21
15. T. Kato
ART Grand Prix
21
16. N. Lacorte
DAMS Lucas Oil
21
17. F. Barrichello
AIX Racing
21
18. J. Nakamura
Hitech
21
19. E. David
AIX Racing
21
20. B. Badoer
Rodin Motorsport
21
21. F. McLaughlin
Hitech
21
22. W. Shin
Hitech
21
23. R. Escotto
AIX Racing
21
24. M. de Palo
Trident
21
25. K. Ho
Rodin Motorsport
21
26. N. Bhirombhakdi
DAMS Lucas Oil
21
27. H. Garfias
Prema Racing
21
-. H. Ugochukwu
Campos Racing
12
-. E. Rivera
Campos Racing
04
-. M. Colnaghi
MP Motorsport
03
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