James Wharton hoping to follow in footsteps of Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan to F1

Australia’s latest Formula 1 hopeful, Melbourne teenager James Wharton, has a pair of Aussie drivers in his corner as he aims to follow their path to the top in motorsport. WATCH.

Australian Formula 1 drivers Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan were among the first to congratulate Melbourne teenager James Wharton after he landed a racing seat he hopes will set him on the same trajectory as them to the top of world motorsport.

Australia’s latest Formula 1 hopeful, 18-year-old Wharton will make his debut in F3 at next year’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in a significant step towards his ultimate goal of reaching F1.

Eight years after he left Australia with his dad for Europe to throw everything at his racing career, Wharton will graduate to the series on the first official rung of the stepladder towards F1 after he was signed by French-based team ART.

Wharton is now hoping to follow the same path of McLaren star Piastri, who won the F3 and F2 championships on his way to F1, and Australia’s newest F1 driver Doohan, who will line-up for Alpine next year, through the F1 feeder categories.

James Wharton will debut in the F3 next year. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images for AGPC

The teenager has already had plenty of support from the pair, who were quick to offer their congratulations after he earned his F3 promotion.

“They were probably the first people to know because Jack was actually talking to me when I got the news (in Monza),” Wharton said.

“Oscar is very supportive of me and sent a message when I got the news.

“I have known Oscar for a couple of years now …. I was on the same team as he was (in F2 and F3), Prema Racing, for the last three years.

“So he knew who I was and I have a good connection with him and Jack has always supported me and is always there when I need him.

“They just said ‘Good job and keep working’.”

Wharton said seeing Piastri, who this year won his first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Hungary, and Doohan on the F1 grid helped make his goals “more realistic”.

He said the Australian F1 presence would only help his cause as he strives to join them.

“Knowing that they are doing it, it gives you an extra boost that it’s possible,” Wharton said just hours after arriving back in Australia from Europe.

“It’s not like it’s something that no one has ever done before, but at the same time it shows that Australian drivers have the motivation and the determination to do it.

“Having other Australians there helps us, helps my cause knowing that teams like Australians and like how we drive.

“I’m just super proud of what Australians have been doing and now hopefully I’m the next one.”

Wharton has signed with ART. Picture: Supplied

After a successful junior karting career, Wharton was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2021 to 2023 and this year finished runner-up in the Formula Regional European Championship.

He has already made plenty of sacrifices in a bid to fulfil his motorsport ambitions, leaving Australia at the age of 10 to move to Italy.

“That was a really, really big step at 10 years old moving to Italy just with my dad,” he said.

“We knew that if I wanted to move forward in my career we had to go to Europe as soon as possible and that’s what we did.

“It was a big sacrifice for my family.

“It was a huge step, especially for my sister and my mum who had to stay back here. I have a sister two years younger than me and we really haven’t seen each other much in the last 10 years.

“It is a big sacrifice for them, not just for me …. it really made me motivated to do well because I know the sacrifice we were making.”

The 18-year-old hopes to follow in Australian driver footsteps. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images for AGPC

Now, Wharton is determined to make good on the sacrifices with a determination to make it to the top.

“At this point it is the only goal and the only option for me, considering how long I have been doing it, it’s just F1 now,” Wharton said.

“With the amount of effort and the things I am doing, I really feel that I can make it.

“I feel like the last couple of seasons I have really made a step in my driving and now it’s just showing everyone what I can do.

“There are a lot of people in Europe now who know who James is and know what James can do, but not many from Australia.

“I just need to keep going like this and I think hard work pays off at the end of the day and if I keep working, I think I have a good chance.”