{"id":654779,"date":"2026-05-07T04:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/654779\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T04:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:44:14","slug":"f1-news-james-wharton-reveals-extent-of-injuries-from-australian-gp-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/654779\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 news: James Wharton reveals extent of injuries from Australian GP crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Wharton and Louis Sharp crashed during Lap 8 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship race at Albert Park.<\/p>\n

The Australian driver was involved in a high-speed incident at Albert Park while battling Prema teammate Sharp during the FIA Formula 3 Championship sprint race.<\/p>\n

The pair collided heavily at Turn 5 and were both forced to withdraw from the feature race on Sunday on medical grounds.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Missed Apex F1 podcast, Wharton confirmed the impact led to a split lung that required a cautious recovery period and ruled him out of full preparation for the following rounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, I had a pneumothorax in my lung, which is basically a split lung,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t train, I couldn\u2019t do any fitness for three and a half weeks, and I couldn\u2019t fly until I got cleared by the medical team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The injury, while managed conservatively, significantly disrupted his season momentum at a critical stage, with Wharton describing the recovery period as \u201cone of the most boring three weeks I\u2019ve had\u201d as he waited for clearance to return to Europe.<\/p>\n

Wharton also revealed that in-car reactions during the crash may have contributed to his injury, with the driver instinctively holding his breath before impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a bit of time to brace for it which is why I ended up with the pneumothorax, the hospital said,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I braced and held my breath, my lung obviously hit my chest cavity. So that\u2019s probably why I actually had the split lung. But I actually had a bit of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when it\u2019s going that fast, it ends up in slow motion though for us drivers. Like we know that it\u2019s coming, and yeah, I had a lot of time to prepare and went in backwards quite hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s rule one of racing your teammate? \ud83d\ude2c<\/p>\n

The incident that brought the opening Sprint Race of 2026 to an early conclusion \u274c#F3<\/a> #AusGP<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/jRXfEo1Kkn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Formula 3 (@Formula3) March 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The crash itself came during an intense intra-team battle with Sharp, with Wharton acknowledging the incident was avoidable and not reflective of the standard expected within a tightly contested junior category where teammates are often each other\u2019s closest rivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were both very fast that weekend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point of the race, we were four tenths quicker than the leaders, which is the positives we have to take away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crash itself was so avoidable from both sides. As a team, it\u2019s never a good look. And even as drivers, it\u2019s not a good look.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have a perception of crashing with teammates is not what anyone wants. So at the end of the day, we\u2019ve spoken, we\u2019re always going to be quite close, and at the end of the day, it can\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re young drivers, yes, but there was a lot of people involved, and Sunday ended up with only one Prema car on the track. So we have to take that under our wing now and make sure it doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for a crash itself, it\u2019s hard to always point fingers and know who\u2019s at fault. At the end of the day we\u2019re both in our teens still, and it showed quite easily at the end of Turn 4, Turn 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we just need to make sure it doesn\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the severity of the incident on-track, Wharton said there was no lingering hostility between the pair, noting the realities of the junior formula environment where drivers are both teammates and direct competitors for future opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m someone that puts racing on track and life in two different scenarios,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re in such a small world and such a small paddock that if you start ending up not liking people because of a crash on track, you\u2019re going to have a long year, and you\u2019re going to have a lot of people that don\u2019t talk to you because they know that if you crash with them, they\u2019re not going to speak to you.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s very hard to manage it. And of course, in any other sport, probably would never speak to him again.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re in a sport where I can see him every day. I\u2019m in London at the moment training, and I was with him yesterday. So it\u2019s like we\u2019re going to be close, and it\u2019s something that the team needs as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re there to push the team forward, not just ourselves. So of course, there\u2019s never going to be bad blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m sure when we get a one-two at some point this year it will all go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the physical setback now resolved, Wharton has returned to full training as he prepares for the next phase of the season, including a demanding run of European races beginning with Monaco next month.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old said the enforced break was frustrating given the importance of maintaining rhythm in Formula 3, particularly with limited track time and compressed race weekends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m back to my healthy self, still trying to get back into the gym and trying to get back to where I was because before the [Australian] Grand Prix, I was in a really good spot,\u201d Wharton added.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when you have a break like this for us drivers, it\u2019s quite tough to get back straight away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the setback, Wharton said he was firmly focused on the remainder of the season and maintaining his push towards F1.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, you can\u2019t control everything that happens in motorsport, but I can control a lot of things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I still have another nine races to go this season. And motorsport changes very quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can go from sitting here as a Formula 3 driver to being in the talk to being in Formula One very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n


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