James Wharton claimed his first-ever Formula 3 victory with an impressive drive in the Austria Sprint Race ahead of Alessandro Giusti.
The Australian driver, who had never been on the podium before either, led from pole position ahead of the Frenchman as the drama unfolded behind them.
Ugo Ugochukwu claimed his first podium finish as well for Prema Racing to complete the top three.
Wharton started from pole with Giusti alongside him on the front row and Charlie Wurz in third as the home favourite.
Championship leader Rafael Camara went from sixth on the grid and Sunday’s polesitter Nikola Tsolov started from 12th.
Tim Tramnitz, third in the Drivers’ Standings, faced an uphill battle for the weekend’s races after qualifying all the way down in 17th place.
Wharton preserves race lead on opening lap
Bruno del Pino initially struggled to get away for the formation lap but managed to restart his MP Motorsport car just in time before the final car passed.
At lights out, Wharton got away well to lead into Turn 1 as Wurz battled hard with Ugo Ugochukwu for third.
The Austrian held on as Brando Badoer reclaimed fourth from his team-mate, who jumped him at the start.
Camara made his way into sixth ahead of Callum Voisin and Tsolov climbed up the order to eighth.
The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 3 following multiple collisions at Turn 3.
Christian Ho made a bold move on Tukka Taponen but misjudged it, forcing the Finnish driver wide after contact.
Behind them, Louis Sharp had nowhere to go and collided with the wounded ART.
On Lap 4, racing resumed once the marshals had cleared the stricken cars of Taponen and Sharp.
Tsolov gained another place at the restart to take seventh off Voisin, moving him one place behind his championship rival.
Badoer went wide at Turn 1 on Lap 6, allowing Ugochukwu back through, as Camara made his way past.
However, the Italian sent it on the Trident driver at Turn 3, reclaiming fifth place.
Brad Benavides went side-by-side with Voisin heading into Turn 3, but out of nowhere, del Pino dived into the corner and made contact with the AIX Racing driver.
Del Pino was forced to pit with front wing damage, while Benavides also limped back to the pits with a puncture.
Title contenders battle hard at the Red Bull Ring
Meanwhile, Giusti applied the pressure to Wharton out front as Tsolov made a superb sweeping move around the outside of Camara at Turn 6, taking sixth place.
On Lap 10, Camara fought back and initially reclaimed the position after Turn 3, but heading into Turn 4, Tsolov retook the spot as the Brazilian ran wide and drifted onto the gravel, dropping back down to ninth.
On Lap 13, Badoer made a late dive at Turn 3 but unfortunately collected home favourite Wurz, who had been on course for a podium. Both drivers spun and were left facing the wrong direction.
It would have marked the first time an Austrian driver finished on the podium, but Wurz was left stranded on track while Badoer limped back to the pits for repairs.
The Safety Car was deployed again, offering a welcome reprieve for Wharton at the front.
With the crash, Tsolov gained two places and moved into fourth, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak now fifth, Martinius Stenshorne sixth, Camara seventh, Mari Boya eighth, Voisin ninth and Tramnitz 10th.
Racing action resumed at the end of Lap 17, allowing four laps until the end of the Sprint for a dramatic finish in Austria.
Wharton preserved his lead at the restart as Tsolov tried to make his way past Ugochukwu for a podium finish.
The American held on as the Campos racing driver had to defend from his team-mate, Inthraphuvasak.
This allowed the top two to pull away once again as the Australian broke DRS on Lap 19, a pivotal moment in the race.
Wharton holds on for first-ever F3 win
Stenshorne lost ground to fifth place and Camara tried to pass the Hitech driver, but lost out massively as he went wide at Turn 3, dropping all the way down to 10th.
The battles continued in the lower point scoring positions, Boya and Tramnitz climbing to sixth and seventh amid the chaos.
But it was Wharton who claimed victory in the Sprint, an Australian returning to the top step of the podium for the first time in four years.
Giusti settled for second but made it back-to-back podium finishes ahead of Ugochukwu in third.
Tsolov delivered a strong performance to finish fourth from 12th on the grid to chip away at Camara’s championship lead with crucial points.
Campos team-mates Inthraphuvasak and Boya followed closely in fifth and sixth, rounding out a solid team effort.
Tramnitz impressed with a 10-place gain to claim seventh and secure valuable points in a determined recovery drive.
Stenshorne crossed the line eighth, Voisin took ninth, while Camara managed to hold on for the final points-paying position in 10th — a challenging day for the championship leader.
READ MORE – Nikola Tsolov grabs second F3 Feature Race pole in Austria
