James Wharton lands 2027 F2 seat with Trident

James Wharton will step up to Formula 2 full-time in 2027 after signing with Trident, ending months of uncertainty over his future and bringing him one step away from F1. The 20-year-old Australian joins the Italian squad after a second F3 campaign in which he finished 17th with Prema, taking a sprint win in Barcelona and a runner-up result at the season-ending Madrid round.

Why it matters:

The move puts Wharton on the final rung of the established junior ladder below F1 and restores a full-time Australian presence in F2 for the first time since Jack Doohan completed his 2023 campaign. If he races the entire season, Wharton will become only the third Australian to complete a full F2 schedule since the championship was rebranded in 2017, joining Doohan and 2021 champion Oscar Piastri.

The Details:

• Wharton scored 39 points in 2026, doubling his points-paying finishes from four to eight and improving on his 25-point rookie total from 2025.
• He claimed a win in each of his two full F3 seasons, adding the Barcelona sprint to his maiden victory in Austria in 2025.
• The move reunites him with Trident, the team he made his F2 debut for at the 2025 Qatar round, replacing Martinius Stenshorne and partnering Laurens van Hoepen.
• That weekend was tough — his sprint ended in contact with van Hoepen and he finished 19th in the feature race after a pit-lane mistake and track limits penalty — but it gave Wharton and the team a head start on their relationship.
• Trident currently sits seventh in the 2026 F2 teams' standings ahead of the Azerbaijan round, with John Bennett's Austria sprint win and five further podiums from Bennett and van Hoepen.

What's next:

Wharton will prepare with Trident over the winter before his rookie F2 season begins in 2027. Team manager Giacomo Ricci says the squad will give him the best possible preparation, while Wharton says he is "looking forward to joining the team and continuing to work hard."