F3: Wharton outduels Slater to take victory in Barcelona Sprint Race

James Wharton beat Freddie Slater to victory in the Barcelona Sprint Race.

Having lined up in P2, the PREMA Racing driver lost out at the start, dropping to third place behind Slater.

However, Wharton fought back, overtaking Slater and then polesitter Gerrard Xie to take the lead over the next few laps.

The Australian then had to manage two Safety Car restarts and pressure from those behind, but held on to take a second Formula 3 victory.

Slater beat DAMS Lucas Oil’s Xie across the line to finish second for TRIDENT, with MP Motorsport’s Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member Tuukka Taponen in fourth.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny, Bruno del Pino, and Hiyu Yamakoshi followed in fifth, sixth and seventh, with Campos Racing’s Theophile Nael in eighth.

PREMA’s Louis Sharp also had a strong race, making a comeback drive from P16 on the grid to the points in ninth, as TRIDENT’s Noah Stromsted rounded out the top 10.

Nael is set to start from pole position in Sunday’s Feature Race, where he will be joined on the front row by Campos teammate Ugo Ugochukwu.

That race is set to start at 08:40 local time, but until then you can read a full report from today’s FIA Formula 3 Barcelona Sprint Race.