From 4th to 7th May, the Misano Racing Weekend hosted various motor racing disciplines, including the highly competitive FIA-certified Italian F4 Championship, which brings together the world's leading hopefuls who have entered at the age of 15 and are eager to climb the ladder to the higher categories. James Wharton was at the forefront of the 2023 season opener at Imola and immediately put himself on the map on his arrival at the Italian circuit, finishing in the top three in all Free Practice sessions.

He even climbed to the top of the hierarchy during the final session on Friday before official Qualifying. This one was going to be extremely tight. With a time of 1:34.955 at an average speed of over 160 km/h, James was only 85 hundredths off pole position. "My times improved as the session went on and I was still hoping to make it on my last lap, but unfortunately that wasn't the case," said the Motorsport Australia representative.

Fighting spirit rewarded

Race 1, held midday on Saturday, proved to be very clear with a 3rd place start and finish. Race 2 could have followed a similar pattern, but James' fighting spirit enabled him to gain a place and take 2nd place on the podium. "With my main rivals in the Italian Championship we are really close in terms of performance. The Misano circuit is not very conducive to overtaking, so I could only stay in my place in Race 1 despite some attempts to move up in the standings. In the second race I managed to overtake a competitor on the outside to move up from 3rd to 2nd place."

Alas, James Wharton would fall victim to contact with another competitor in Race 3, forcing him to go off-track and demote him to the back of the field! "It's a pity, I had made a good start from 6th on the grid (defined by the best of the second fastest laps done in one of the two Qualifying sessions). I stayed P4 for a long time, before this incident. I was struggling more with the car in this race, but I was nevertheless hoping to score more points in the Championship, following on from the two podiums I had achieved in the two previous races."

"There are a lot of positives to take away from this meeting in Misano, which was better than the one in Imola. Now I need to put it all together to get pole position in Qualifying, so I can aim for victory more easily in the races. I know I can do it. See you at the end of May in Belgium at Spa Francorchamps," concluded the All Road Management driver.

About James Wharton

James Wharton is a 16-year-old Australian racing driver, who is competing in his second international Formula 4 season in 2023. Currently supported by the Ferrari Driver Academy, All Road Management and Motorsport Australia, James began karting in his native country at the age of seven. He has gone on to shine in some of the world's top single-make challenges.

A two-time winner of the prestigious SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas in Junior, he was involved in FIA Karting competitions from 2018 to 2021, where he has learnt a lot from great teams like RFM and Parolin Motorsport. Numerous podiums have been achieved, culminating in a brilliant 5th position in the KZ2 International Super Cup, a de facto World Cup for the category.

Winner in his second F4 meeting in Dubai, James Wharton finished 5th in the UAE Championship with a total of four wins, three pole positions and four fastest laps. During the 2022 season, the Australian followed up with two more 5th places in the Italian and German F4 Championships, with impressive consistency: 20 top five finishes including eight podiums.

At the beginning of 2023, the Australian won the UAE Formula 4 Championship brilliantly with the Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited team. His goal is to take more victories this season in the Italian F4 Championship with the Prema Racing team.