James Wharton to join Trident for 2027 Formula 2 season
Trident have announced the first driver on their roster for the 2027 Formula 2 season, with James Wharton joining the Italian team for the upcoming campaign. The Australian driver raced for PREMA in the recently-concluded Formula 3 season, scoring a victory in Barcelona and finishing third in Madrid's sprint.
Wharton also stood in as a super-sub for Trident in 2025, racing at Lusail alongside the incumbent Laurens van Hoepen. Qualifying 21st for the event, Wharton did not finish the sprint due to an incident with teammate van Hoepen, beached in the gravel.
The Australian driver came home 19th in the Feature Race, albeit after suffering a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. While this was a one-off, Wharton will be aiming to continue Trident's resurgent run into 2027.
“I really can’t put into words what this opportunity for 2027 means to me,” Wharton expressed, speaking on the announcement.
“To be able to return to TRIDENT after racing with them in 2025 is something really special. We worked very well together and they are a very prestigious team that has done a great job over the last few seasons."
He was just as thankful to Trident team principal Giacomo Ricci and founder Maurizio Salvadori for the opportunity to serve the team for the upcoming season.
A huge thank you to Giacomo (Ricci) and Maurizio (Salvadori) for giving me the opportunity to drive their car and be part of their team. I can’t thank TRIDENT enough, and I’m really looking forward to starting this new chapter of my career.”
“I’m looking forward to joining the team and continuing to work hard with them over the winter, so that we can arrive in 2027 in the best possible shape," Wharton concluded.
Trident endured a difficult 2025, scoring only two points before letting go of Max Esterson and Sami Meguetounif at the end of F2's European leg in Monza. The Italian outfit then cycled through several names, including Martinius Stenshorne, van Hoepen, Wharton and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, before settling down with van Hoepen and John Bennett for 2026.
A strong turnaround over the winter break saw Trident arrive into 2026 with plenty of momentum, as van Hoepen scored two podiums in the first three weekends of the year. The Dutchman added to his tally later in the year, finishing third in Hungary and Madrid's sprints, as he sits ninth in the standings entering Baku.
Teammate Bennett has scored the team's only victory in 2026, winning the sprint in Austria earlier this year. He has also scored a podium in Monza's sprint, before backing up this result with fourth in the Feature Race.
There remains real optimism for Wharton to build on these successes in the following year, and build on two years of F3. The Australian won the F3 sprint in Austria in 2025, before his successes this year.
Wharton's junior career has seen him triumph in the F4 UAE Championship back in 2021, before two top five finishes in Italian F4 in the following two seasons.
He then went on to finish runner-up in the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) in 2024, before joining ART's F3 set up in 2025.
It's his consistent speed that Trident's team principal Ricci highlighted, speaking highly of the Australian's signing going into the upcoming season of racing.
"James (Wharton) has demonstrated speed, talent, and great determination. The season just ended allowed him to gain further experience, and we are confident that the work we will do together will enable him to take a significant step forward,” Ricci said.
Wharton becomes the second name to be announced on F2's 2027 grid, after Invicta Racing announced F3 runner-up Freddie Slater as one of their drivers for the upcoming season.
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