PREMA Racing delivered a solid performance in the opening qualifying session of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season today at Albert Park. Lining up for his home race in sunny Melbourne, James Wharton posted a positive top-10 result in P8, making strong improvements throughout the session and showing front-running pace. He is in position to secure points finishes in both races this weekend with good chances available to take in the reverse-grid Sprint Race.
Louis Sharp ended up just shy of the reverse grid pole in P13, and while he could not make it into the top 10, he was just four hundredths away from his teammate in a pack with nine cars covered by a single tenth.
José Garfias ended up in P25, completing his second career qualifying session in the series. While he was not able to maximise the result, he showed the potential needed for further improvements. He is now set for two hard-fought races, the first starting tomorrow at 11:15 AM.
#20 - LOUIS SHARP
“A bit of a tricky session for me. Struggled a bit in a few areas, but it’s nice to get the first qualifying of the year out of the way. A little bit of time would put us up a lot of positions, so I’m not missing that much. Overall, we just need to put a few things together in a few areas.”
#21 - JAMES WHARTON
“Quite a positive start to the year, my best qualifying of the year, and with a new team to do that is good but, at the same time, there was something left today. My first run wasn’t good enough, but then I made a huge step with the second set of tyres that put me in P2. However, we didn’t make another step with the final set. The team did a really good job today. I feel the car was definitely going to be in the top-10, which it were and we maximized what we had. It’s time to go back and get more work done for the next qualifying, but at the same time, we are in a good spot to score points all weekend so thank you to the team.”
#22 - JOSE GARFIAS
“It was a bit of a shame that I got my laptime deleted in the second push. It was quite strong, and then I made a mistake in the last push so I couldn’t improve. Overall there is a lot of potential to be at the front but I couldn’t quite put it together. I have to work on that. The team has done quite a good job in providing me with a good car, but there are still a few areas we can work on together, and I can also make a step in terms of the driving.”