James Wharton dominates Formula 4 UAE weekend in Dubai

Aussie James Wharton has dominated the second round of the Formula 4 UAE championship, taking three race victories in Dubai.

"Every so often we get a driver who just steals the show and it's been a sensational weekend of racing by James Wharton, not by just getting his first ever career win in single-seaters but by setting a benchmark for the competition," said category promoter Craig Thompson.

In just his second weekend in car racing, the Ferrari Academy Driver put his Abu Dhabi Racing by PREMA car on pole position for the first three races, setting the benchmark for the rest of the weekend.

In front of a huge twenty-nine car grid, Wharton led a lights-to-flag victory ahead of Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, who pulled a large gap ahead of the rest of the field.

PREMA Racing teammates Charlie Wurz and Aiden Neate battled for third place, but the race was red flagged after an incident between Martinius Stenshorne and Neate.

Wharton led from the start once again in race two, with Neate taking second place from Inthraphuvasak in the opening corners.

The race was briefly brought behind the safety car, but Wharton held his lead at the restart, with a three-way fight for third emerging behind him.

Wharton and Neate topped the podium for PREMA, with Inthraphuvasak in third.

The young Australian claimed yet another lights-to-flag victory in race three, crossing the finish line with a 14-second lead ahead of Charlie Wurz.

Aiden Neate had crossed the line in second, but a ten-second penalty dropped him to the final podium position.

With the top 12 drivers from race three starting the final race in a reverse grid, it was the first real challenge for Wharton of the weekend.

Russian Nikita Bedrin eventually took the race victory after a protracted battle for the lead.

With the leaders skirmishing at the front, Wharton made his way up to sixth at the flag, the highest of the top-running PREMA drivers.

Wharton now leads the championship, but plans to depart the series in preparation for his Italian Formula 4 campaign.

"We'll have another car for Round 3 next week so hopefully that means we'll solidify a 30-car grid for the championship,” said category promoter Craig Thompson.

“Even though we have way more cars this year compared to past seasons, the standard of driving has been some of the best we've ever had.”

“It's extremely rewarding to see everyone racing hard and earning their successes, including some very important career milestones."