Formula 3

Melbourne-born driver James Wharton created his own piece of history on Saturday, claiming his maiden Formula 3 victory and Australia’s first win in the Championship since 2021 after taking out the Spielberg Sprint Race.

Having qualified in 12th, the reverse grid formation for the Sprint Race meant that Wharton was bumped up to Pole Position, where he would attempt to defend his lead at a track notorious for overtaking.

With two safety cars and collisions taking place in the race’s midfield, Wharton’s composure came to his aid as he finished ahead of Alessandro Giusti.

Wharton won the race after 21 laps and delivered an emotional message to his team after what has been a difficult start to the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship season for ART Grand Prix.

“We finally got the result we’ve been working for all season. It’s been a tough start, but we’ve worked hard with the team and behind the scenes to get here,” Wharton said.

“Yes, it’s a Sprint Race, but we take it one step at a time. Now we’ve ticked this box, and we’ll focus on winning a Feature Race too.”

Wharton went on to finish 14th in the Feature race the following day and will now shift his focus to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Oscar Piastri has secured another top three finish for the 2025 Formula 1 season, finishing behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix, as the pair jostled for the outright lead for most of the race in Spielberg.

While Piastri’s second place finish added 18 points to his Driver Standings total (216 points), his lead at the top of the driver pool has been reduced to 15 points with Norris now sitting on 201 points after 11 rounds.

Piastri enjoyed a terrific start to the race, breaking out in front of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc almost immediately out of the gate and created a two-car race all the way to the finish.

There was no lack of drama at the event, with Williams driver Carlos Sainz forced to withdraw prior to the opening lap of the race due to the rear of his car catching alight, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli crashed out on the opening lap after the latter locked up on the second turn.

Round 12 of the Formula 1 season heads to the United Kingdom this week, as drivers take on the historic Silverstone Circuit for the 2025 British Grand Prix.

Junior WRC

Taylor Gill and Daniel Brkic’s terrific FIA Junior World Rally Championship season has continued to hold firm, following a strong performance in the Acropolis Rally Greece over the weekend.

Gill and Brkic secured a second place finish in both the Junior WRC field and the WRC3 while battling the hot elements in the Mediterranean.

It was not all smooth driving, as the car overcame multiple punctures and endured overheating issues, and finished the opening day in seventh.

The Australian pair could not make up the last time and finished second behind Ali Türkkan and Oytun Albayrak by five minutes and 52 seconds.

Gill extends his Drivers’ Championship lead in the Junior WRC by seven points, while Brkic does the same in the Co-Drivers standings, with both on 78 total points.

At the top of the WRC3 standings, Gill (67 points) holds an eight-point advantage over Italian Matteo Fontana.

Junior WRC drivers will get a month’s rest before they head to Northern Europe to compete in WRC Secto Rally Finland from 31 July – 3 August for Round 9 of the FIA World Rally Championship.

McLaren Trophy

It was a turbulent weekend at Spa-Francorchamps for Australian driver Jayden Kelly at his most recent outing in the McLaren Trophy Europe 2025 season.

Kelly secured P2 in Qualifying to put himself on the front row of the grid of Race 1, however, shortly after, it all went pear-shaped as Kelly’s rear-end was tagged, causing him to spin 180 degrees, where he was then hit front-on forcing him to retire early.

The incident would not stop Kelly from answering back in Race 2, summoning his best driving to finish second after starting from the back of the grid.

Kelly would finish behind Eric Behrens to finish the weekend strong, describing the two days at the historic circuit as “crazy” in his Race 2 post-race interview.

Both Kelly and teammate Michael O’Brien finished first for their Class, with results still provisional.

24 Hours of Spa

A strong contingent of Aussies made their way to Belgium to feature in the iconic 24 Hours of Spa, where a mixed bag of results followed the group.

In Qualifying, it was Matt Campbell alongside his Dinamic GT teammates of Bastian Buus and Mathieu Jaminet who obtained P11 after four qualifying sessions, qualifying for Superpole, where the team secured P17 ahead of the Main Race. Unfortunately the team were forced to retire due to a wheel bearing failure after 60 laps.

Meanwhile, Wright Motorsports’ Tom Sargent and teammates Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer qualified in P22 and third in class with their Porsche 911 GT3 R. Despite an impressive drive and a P16 finish, the team narrowly missed out on a Gold Cup podium, finishing fourth after 546 laps.

Optimum Motorsport driver James Allen, alongside Largim Ali, Michael Porter and Oliver Millroy in their McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, locked up a P40 and P10 Gold Cup ahead of the Main Race. The Optimum Motorsport team managed to make up one spot throughout the race, finish 39th and seventh in the Gold Cup.

It was tough weekend for Jordan Love and teammates H.H. Prince Jefri Ibrahim, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Alexander Sims in their Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3 R. The Johor Motorsports Racing Team qualified 69th outright and 17th in the Bronze Cup before putting in a well-rounded performance throughout the 527 lap race, crossing the line in P43 and 12th in the Bronze Cup.