Photo: James Wharton
Hitech GP has named James Wharton as the driver who will replace the banned Martinius Stenshorne in this weekend’s FIA Formula 3 Championship round at Silverstone.
Stenshorne is not allowed to race due to taking part in two GB3 races at Silverstone in April, which violated a line in F3’s sporting regulations which states drivers can not race in other single-seater series unless “explicitly approved by the FIA and [championship] promoter in writing”. He failed to seek this permission, not notifying the FIA or F3’s promoter.
The 18-year-old Norwegian is currently 14th in the standings, having won Melbourne’s sprint race and been runner-up in last weekend’s sprint race at the Red Bull Ring.
Wharton is a fellow member of the All Road Management stable, and like Stenshorne he made a GB3 cameo at Silverstone to gain experience of the track.
He steps up to F3 from Formula Regional, where he came sixth in the Middle East championship with two podiums at the start of this year and four rounds into the European championship season also sits sixth in the standings having taken two podiums and two poles.
“I can’t thank Hitech GP enough for the opportunity and for trusting me to take the wheel this weekend at Silverstone,” said Wharton. “This is the biggest opportunity I’ve had in my career so far. It’s going to be a challenging weekend, but I can’t wait to show what I can do.”
The 17-year-old Australian is in his third year of single-seater racing, having spent the first two in Formula 4. He was United Arab Emirates champion and Euro 4 runner-up in 2023.