Wharton claims Austria F3 sprint pole via reverse grid

James Wharton has secured sprint race pole for the Formula 3 round at the Red Bull Ring after qualifying 12th, benefiting from the series' reverse-grid format. The result gives the Australian another front-row start just one round after he took his and Prema's first win of the 2026 season in Barcelona.

Why it matters:

The pole continues a surge in form for the 19-year-old, who scored his first points of the year with that Barcelona sprint victory. For Prema, a team that had not won an F3 race since Belgium in 2024, another strong starting position offers a chance to build momentum and close the gap in the standings.

The details:

• Wharton posted a 1m22.101s in Friday qualifying, placing him 12th for Sunday's feature race but handing him pole for Saturday's reverse-grid sprint.
• The Australian admitted the session was not his cleanest, noting the car was good enough for better than 12th but taking the positives from another front-row opportunity.
• Prema teammate Louis Sharp endured a tougher session, qualifying 20th after a DRS issue on his final push lap spoiled his chance at a top-ten result.
• The entire field struggled with traffic and yellow flags across one of the shortest laps on the calendar, making clean laps difficult to string together.

What's next:

Wharton starts Saturday's sprint from pole at 10:05am local time, while Sunday's feature race sees him line up from the sixth row. He will look to replicate his 2025 Red Bull Ring success, where he converted sprint pole into victory, and maximize points across both races.