James Wharton delivered a stellar run today in the opening race of the FIA Formula 3 weekend at Barcelona. Starting from the outside pole in the reverse-grid Race 1, the Australian cruised to the lead with two bold moves after an early drop to P3. He never looked back from that point on.

Two safety-car situations posed a threat to his dominance, but Wharton showcased perfect timing on both occasions and controlled the race after that. With today's win, he earned 10 valuable points, placing him in contention for a top-10 in the standings. For PREMA, it was an anticipated success, highlighting the hard work done so far in 2026.

Louis Sharp had an impressive start and built on it from there, recovering several positions to make his way into the points zone with P9. On the other hand, José Garfias drove a solitary race after early contact put him on the back foot. The resulting puncture forced him to pit, leaving him with no real chance to recover. He is looking forward to more opportunities in tomorrow's Feature Race.

#20 - Louis Sharp  

"Good Sprint Race for me coming from a difficult qualifying session. I had a good recovery from P15 to P9. The team did a great job, and we had a fast car, which is really promising. I made good overtakes and managed the race well to come through the field nicely. I'm looking forward to the Feature Race tomorrow. I will need to be more decisive, and with the longer race, a little bit more tyre management will be needed. I'm really happy with the race."

Qualifying: P17                                 Fastest lap: 1:28.999
Starting Position Race 1: P17            Race 1: P9

#21 - James Wharton

"I couldn't have been happier after Saturday, and the car was good throughout the whole race. We need to take the positives, and I can't thank the team enough for their hard work. We need to keep pushing for better results on Friday that can make our lives easier, because we know we can fight and win races. We had a tough start this season, and this win is deserved by the whole team."

Qualifying: P11                                 Fastest lap: 1:28.820
Starting Position Race 1: P2              Race 1: P1

#22 - Jose Garfias

"Not much to say about this race for me. Fighting from the back, I got involved on an incident that gave me a puncture and put me a lap down. From there I drove alone for all the remaining laps."

Qualifying: P26                                 Fastest lap: 1:29.458
Starting Position Race 1: P26            Race 1: P27