James Wharton is hoping to attract the attention of F1 teams when he steps up to F2 in 2027. Image: XPB Images
The Australian will contest his first full F2 season next year after securing a seat with Trident, returning to the squad that gave him a one-off opportunity in the championship at Qatar late in 2025.
Wharton arrives at the next stage of his career after two seasons in Formula 3 which produced victories but did not deliver the championship results he had hoped for.
Speaking to Speedcafe, the 20-year-old said those campaigns had tested his confidence, but insisted he had to trust that his opportunity in F2 had come for a reason, pointing to fellow Australians Jack Doohan and Oscar Piastri as proof of what can be achieved through the category.
“I just have to believe that I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t good enough,” Wharton said.
“And it definitely takes a toll when you have some years where you’re not fully happy with how it’s gone.
“But I just know that I’m still the same driver as what I was and I just need to believe that if they’ve done it, I can do it as well.
“I’m no different to Jack. I’m no different to Oscar. And we’ve come from the same place and we have a very similar mentality.
“So I’m very much looking forward to next year.”
Wharton’s own route into F2 has been less straightforward than those taken by his compatriots.
Wharton finished 18th in F3 during 2025 before improving to 17th this season with Prema, collecting 39 points compared to 25 the previous year.
He won the Barcelona sprint and claimed second place in the Madrid sprint at the final round, while scoring in eight races across the campaign.
Wharton admitted he wanted considerably more from his second year in the category, but felt his progress as a driver was not fully reflected by the championship table.
“I definitely wanted a lot more out of my year so far,” he said.
“But I feel like in motorsport we have a lot of smart people, and I feel like you can very much see from the outside what’s going on between teams and stuff like that.
“So for me, I felt like there was parts of this year where I did a really really good job.
“And talking about a pressure situation, I feel like I’ve shown a lot of times in my career that if I’m fighting for championships, I’ll definitely deliver.
“So I just need to try and keep believing that hard work will pay off. At the moment, it hasn’t just yet. But I am trusting the process I’m in.”
That process now takes Wharton into a season he believes could work in his favour precisely because there is little external expectation surrounding him.
The Australian is currently unattached to an F1 junior program and knows strong F2 results alone may not be enough unless they also make an impression on the people making decisions at grand prix teams.
“With the seasons I’ve had I believe I can go into next year with no expectation,” he said.
“I can go and do the best possible every weekend. And at the end of the day, right now, I am not affiliated with any academy in F1. I’m not on the radar right now.
“So for me there’s not much to lose. It’s about going out there and every weekend trying to prove myself that I can be there.
“I feel like I’m in quite a good situation where if I can just maximise every weekend next year in 2027, the opportunities will come.”
Wharton said attracting that attention would be one of the most important objectives of his rookie F2 campaign.
“The most important thing right now is catching an eye of someone,” he said.
“At the end of the day, if I win five races but I don’t catch an eye of someone, it doesn’t really matter.
“It’s more about doing things that are going to be in the spotlight for them. And that’s being consistent. That’s taking advantage of people’s mistakes and being there when it counts.
“So, yeah, there’s a lot of opportunity. But at the same time, I’ve obviously made it very difficult for myself as well.
“There’s a lot easier ways to do it than I have, but at the same time I have just as much opportunity as anyone else.”
His relationship with Trident dates back to his F2 appearance at Lusail last year, although Wharton said a permanent reunion was far from certain at the time.
The team approached him during the 2026 season, with Wharton encouraged by the progress it had made since his first experience inside the operation.
“If you asked me at the end of 2025, would I be with Trident in 2027? I wouldn’t have said yes,” he said.
“I felt like the step that Trident have made since I raced for them in 2025 has been impressive. And I feel like they put the trust in me by coming to me first during the season.
“And I’ve put the trust in them that they made a huge step in 2026.”
Wharton said he had already begun immersing himself in the team again, travelling to Baku for this weekend’s F2 round to observe Laurens van Hoepen and John Bennett and gather information he can carry into his own preparation.
He added he expected the coming months to be among the most demanding of his career as he prepares for 2027, with post-season testing arrangements still uncertain.
“I feel like for me right now it’s probably the hardest I’ve ever worked,” Wharton said.
“And that’s got to be over the next two months. It feels like you’re coming to the end and you can taste it a little bit of what’s to come.
“And I just feel like if I have to put myself full time for the next 18 months to make my dream happen, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Wharton will also enter F2 as the championship introduces its updated car for 2027, featuring revised front and rear wings designed to improve close racing and bring its appearance more in line with F1 machinery.
He said he expected the changes to be less significant in practice than they appear on paper, but welcomed the addition of an on-board starter which will allow drivers to restart the car after spinning or stalling rather than potentially losing an entire session.
For Wharton, however, the greater challenge will be making the most of the opportunity he has fought to reach.
“I feel like we’re all the same drivers as what we were in karting and that hasn’t really changed,” he said.
“So for me the car itself is definitely going to be a little bit different next year. But at the end of the day we’ve grown up on four wheels on a bitumen track.
“So we all know how it is and it’s not going to change too much no matter what car you drive.”