Australian James Wharton’s international single-seater career has received a major boost after a huge weekend in the Formula 4 UAE Championship.
Having been selected to join the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2020, last year proved to be a challenge, with Wharton unable to find much success in his final year of karting.
Facing a tough run of form and the pressure of being away from friends and family at just 15-years-old, Wharton returned home for a holiday knowing it was a season of missed opportunity.
Although it had a been a tough year, the holiday back home was enough to refresh the youngster’s mindset and give him the push he needed to find the same form he had when he was dominating back home.
Helping his cause was the continued confidence from the Academy, which saw given him a seat in this year’s Italian F4 Championship with prominent junior outfit, Prema Racing.
At the start of the year, Wharton finally got the opportunity to meet up with Prema and get acclimatised with his new set of wheels and although he had a slow start – soon enough he began to unlock proper pace during his testing season.
With the Italian Championship still a couple of months away, Wharton and his Prema teammates headed to the UAE to contest the opening two rounds of its national F4 Championship, which began midway through last month.
Taking place at Yas Marina Circuit, Wharton’s new challenge was to get up to speed with his three teammates in the first round– however all three had enjoyed much more experience at the circuit and in the cars compared to Australian after they attended the round at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Despite the lack of seat-time, Wharton still managed to finish his first ever round of Formula 4 with a podium and top five finish.
Although he was impressive in the UAE season opener, it was at the most recent round of the championship where Wharton finally delivered on what he was capable of and showcased why the Ferrari Driver Academy continued to show faith in him.
Wharton completely dominated the 29-car field at the Dubai Autodrome, converting three pole positions to three race wins and picking up three fastest-laps in the process - bumping him to the top of the standings at the conclusion of the round.
And while it is still undecided as to whether Wharton will continue to race in the UAE for the remaining three back-to-back rounds, he admitted that it that weekend in Dubai gave him all the confidence he needed to turn around his misfortune.
“The round in Dubai was really good because it reminded me that I am here for a reason,” Wharton said.
“I am really happy with the progress I have made recently. Even though I started from a good point after testing, I feel I improved massively and took another step – especially in getting good results against drivers who will be in Italian F4 this year.
“There are still things I need to improve, like my starts, but I feel these past two weekends have shown that if I have everything beneath me, I can do the job comfortably.
“I have only been with the team for a month and a half now but they have been just amazing. The people are great and they are helping me get better and better. I am not even close to my peak, but I think they can help me unlock it.
“I hadn’t won a race in two years and it had been three since I got my last pole, so it was incredible to do both three times in the space of 24 hours and it felt good to be back where I belong – winning races and at the top of my game.”
As for 2022, Wharton is looking forward to a big year.
“We’re not sure if I am going to continue doing UAE but I will obviously be doing all seven rounds of the Italian F4 Championship,” Wharton added.
“To be honest, I just can’t wait for the season to start. I want to happen straight away.
“I thought I was going to need more time and races to get to a good level, but it seems we’re getting there much faster. I’m really excited.”
The next round of the UAE Formula 4 Championship begins takes place this weekend at the Dubai Autodrome, while the Italian F4 Championship begins on 6-8 May.