The Australian started second on the grid and overcame early pressure from Freddie Slater before controlling two Safety Car restarts on his way to a breakthrough result.
It marked Wharton’s first win of the 2026 season, his first points of the campaign, and Prema’s first F3 victory since Belgium in 2024.
Wharton had already enjoyed success at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in FRECA, and again showed strong pace at the Spanish venue after quickly recovering from a difficult opening lap.
Speaking after the race, Wharton said the result had come at an important time after a difficult start to the campaign.
“I feel incredible. It’s been a hard season so far, and I feel like this was needed for me and for the team as well,” he said.
“The team has needed this boost of confidence, and I feel like we are doing the job we just have not had the results to show it.
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“To do something like this with someone so fast behind me like Freddie is very good for us and it shows us we are working well.
“But at the same time after Lap 1 I didn’t think I’d be sitting here, so to be winning after going back at the start shows my maturity level from last year and I am happy with how it went.
“I could not be more happy.”
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Pole sitter Gerrard Xie made a strong start and covered Wharton into Turn 1, which allowed Slater to attack the Prema driver through the opening sequence.
Slater eventually moved into second at Turn 5, dropping Wharton to third, but the Australian stayed within DRS range and fought back on Lap 4 with a move into Turn 1.
That battle allowed Xie to open a gap of 1.4s at the front, but Wharton quickly closed the margin and took the lead on Lap 5 after using the tow to pass the DAMS Lucas Oil driver into Turn 1.
From there, Wharton maintained a narrow advantage over Xie and Slater before the Trident driver moved into second on Lap 7, just before Ernesto Rivera’s stranded Campos Racing car triggered a Virtual Safety Car that was soon upgraded to a full Safety Car.
Wharton was then forced to manage the first restart on Lap 11, with Slater immediately applying pressure into Turn 1.
The British rookie remained close through the opening sector, but Wharton held firm and stretched his margin to 0.8s on Lap 12 before breaking DRS one lap later.
Another Safety Car followed after championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu spun into the gravel while attempting to pass Enzo Deligny for sixth at Turn 3, setting up a five-lap run to the flag.
Wharton again handled the restart cleanly, defending from Slater into Turn 1 before edging clear at the front.
Slater remained within DRS range for much of the closing phase and was just 0.6s behind with two laps remaining, but Wharton responded by pulling clear to 1.2s entering the final lap.
Behind him, Xie closed on Slater and challenged for second into Turn 1, but the Trident driver held the place as Wharton completed the victory by one second.
Xie finished third, 1.6s behind Wharton, while Tuukka Taponen took fourth ahead of the Van Amersfoort Racing trio of Deligny, Bruno del Pino and Taito Yamakoshi.
Theophile Nael finished eighth, while Wharton’s Prema teammate Louis Sharp claimed ninth to score his first points of the season. Noah Stromsted completed the top 10.
Wharton also claimed the fastest lap, with the result moving him to 12th in the drivers’ championship.
Slater’s second place moved him level with Ugochukwu at the top of the standings on 43 points, while del Pino sits third on 40.
Campos Racing continues to lead the teams’ championship on 78 points, ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing on 62 and Trident on 53.
Wharton will hope to continue his momentum into the feature race, which gets underway at 8.40am local time Sunday (4.40pm AEST).
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