Wharton ‘super proud’ to be stepping up to Formula 3 with ART in 2025

James Wharton says it is a “dream” to be stepping up to Formula 3 next season with ART Grand Prix, as he talked through his preparations for the challenges that await him in 2025.
After a trophy-laden karting career, Wharton has made an impressive start to his single seater career and graduates to F3 after finishing as the runner-up in this year’s Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.
“It’s something that we dream of,” said Wharton on stepping up to Formula 3. “They always say that when you get to your first dream you don’t really realise it because of all the hard work you do, so for me it’s a super exciting thing.
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“I’ve worked for the last three, four years to try to get to this point. To get FIA F3 is always the first goal of any driver, to get on the big stage, on F1 weekends and for me it’s been a huge achievement.
“Over the last 12 months, I’ve been working for this, so to finally sign that contract was a big relief, but at the same time I know it’s just the start now.
“All the work so far is just a stepping stone and now the real work starts, and it gets even more important. But it’s a super proud moment and I can’t thank everyone enough for getting me to this point.”
Wharton’s step up to the third tier has brought about a bit of change following his decision to sign with ART, having previously driven for PREMA Racing every year since 2022.
Talking through his switch, he explained: “Of course, it was a change for me that I think from an outside point of view was not expected. Being with PREMA for so long, since the start of my career, it’s obviously a big change for me.
“But I felt ART is best suited for what I need for next year. Sebastien and I have worked really well together from the start when we started talking during the season I felt very motivated.
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“Having a new car next year has definitely made it a little bit more difficult to understand for us drivers which team to go to, so it’s about having confidence in the people around you and for me ART was the best choice.”
Wharton also revealed that he received rave reviews from Christian Mansell about ART, with his fellow Australian having fought for the title with them in 2024.
But the 18-year-old will still have a few familiar faces around, with Wharton revealing that he shares a long history with teammates Laurens van Hoepen and Tuukka Taponen.
“It’s quite good because we’ve known each other since before testing,” revealed Wharton. “Laurens was my teammate in karting back in 2019, in Ricky Flynn Motorsport, so we’ve already known each other for many years.
“Tuukka was obviously my teammate in the SFDA as well as my teammate in PREMA in his first year in F4. So, it’s a team that I have already known before, which is obviously a plus, we’ve already known each other for five, six years.
“We all started in karting at the same time, so we all know who each other are, so being teammates with them before has definitely helped the transition and made me feel even more welcomed. It’s like going back home and back to where I was a couple of years ago.”
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But nothing eases the transition more than driving and while Wharton did race for Hitech Pulse-Eight at Silverstone this year, he was grateful for the track time at the post-season tests in Jerez and Barcelona as he looks to get up to speed.
“In Silverstone, I didn’t do any laps in the dry because it was wet in Qualifying, so I had no pushes which is why it was quite good to get some dry laps in the car,” continued Wharton.
“The car is super-fast even in a long run, even when we are saving tyres, we are still a lot quicker than I have ever driven before. So, for me it’s crazy to see how fast you can go through corners, such power, everything is different.
“For me, it is such an amazing adrenaline rush going flat out through a corner that you never thought would ever be flat in any other category you’ve been in. It’s just a super cool car and I can’t wait to drive the new car as well.”
As of right now, Wharton is preparing to race in the Macau World Cup with ART before his attentions fully turn to preparing for the 2025 F3 season.
“For me it’s just about physically preparing for next year,” he concluded. “I think the F3 tests really show what you need to improve on, and how you need to work for the year after, so I feel like it’s good having a test before next year just to understand what you need to improve.
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“Physically this car is a lot more demanding than FRECA and any other car I’ve driven, so physically preparing, understanding procedures and where we need to be fully ready before we drive.
“We have one practice before every race, which is not a lot, and it’s a big change from what we do before, so it’s about just making sure you have the best preparation before weekends.
“Knowing what to do on the track before you get to the track, being able to do the lap without actually being at the track, to really be on the limit from lap one.
“If you have to start chasing from FP it’s going to be hard to be there in Qualifying, so just understanding what I need to know before getting to the tracks to be able to perform at my best straight away, that’s a lot about preparation.
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“But it’s very hard to prepare when you are not driving. It’s all in the mind and you have to try and imagine what’s going to happen, which is not easy. It’s something you have to learn but testing helped us especially when you are doing one push considering we’ve never done that as well.
“Everything is new, so it’s just about trying to understand everything and thinking about everything before the race weekend and doing it all before the race.”