James Wharton is looking forward to his return to racing in 2023 with great anticipation and motivation. "My first season in F4 was very instructive and gave me a lot of satisfaction in terms of results," James confessed. "Physically and mentally, I have prepared myself as well as possible to face this new year which promises to be intense. At the beginning of January, I was happy to return to the Dubai Autodrome where I scored my first F4 success. The standard in F4-UAE is incredibly tight this year, with no less than 39 cars on track."

Three great attacking races in Dubai

Leader of the Free Practice session held a few hours before the start of the official Qualifying session, James Wharton was confident for the rest of the competition. "The technical choices made with the team were positive. Unfortunately, I didn't find the same efficiency during Qualifying. The car lacked a little grip and I found myself P10 in Q1 and P7 in Q2."

Always excellent in the starting phases, James managed to move up from 10th to 6th on the first lap of Race 1. Managing to keep a high pace all the way to the end, the highly-combative Australian o and finally climbed to the third step of the podium. "I loved this race, it was one of my best since I started in F4 a year ago". His fourth fastest time in the race allowed him to move to the second row of the starting grid for Race 2. Unfortunately, a bad move prevented him from starting normally at lights out. "This mistake probably cost me a good result and some important points. It's a shame, because I was still very competitive." Indeed, James managed to cross the finish line in 17th position after a sensational 22-place climb in the space of 11 laps!

Starting 7th in Race 3 following the result of the second Qualifying session, James confirmed that he is clearly one of the best F4 drivers today. "Again, I got a great start and was soon up to 4th place. Unfortunately, we had two successive episodes behind the safety car and I didn't have the opportunity to fight for the podium. I could only secure 4th place. However, the balance of the meeting remains positive, even if I remain disappointed with the Qualifying that I would have hoped to have been better and the missed start in Race 2."

Before James turns his attention to the Italian Championship, which starts in April, there are still four races to go in the UAE F4 Championship: at the end of January and the beginning of February in Kuwait, in mid-February again in Dubai and a week later in Abu Dhabi. After this first round, the FDA driver is in 5th position in the provisional Championship.

About James Wharton

James Wharton is a 16-year-old Australian racing driver, who is competing in his second international season in Formula 4 in 2023. Currently supported by the Ferrari Driver Academy, All Road Management and Motorsport Australia, James began karting in his native Australia at the age of seven. He has gone on to shine in some of the world's most important single-brand challenges.

A two-time winner of the prestigious SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas in Junior, he went on to shine in FIA Karting competitions from 2018 to 2021, where he learned a great deal from top teams like RFM and Parolin Motorsport. Numerous podiums were achieved, culminating in a brilliant 5th position in the KZ2 International Super Cup, a de facto World Cup for the category.

James Wharton won his second F4 meeting in Dubai and finished 5th in the UAE Championship with a total of four wins, three pole positions and four fastest laps. During the 2022 season, the Australian followed up with two more 5th places in the Italian and German F4 Championships, with an impressive consistency: 20 top five finishes including eight podiums.

In 2023, the Australian will compete in his second F4 season with the Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited team.