James Wharton believes that the FRECA car will be among the most physically demanding cars he will drive in his career.
The Australian is competing in his rookie season in the championship after stepping up from Italian F4. The PREMA driver sits fifth in the standings after taking a commanding victory at Mugello and has been blisteringly fast all season.
Wharton spoke exclusively to Pit Debrief about the physicality of FRECA’s car and his season so far.
“It’s probably one of the hardest cars we’ll ever drive. I feel like any person will say that FRECA is the hardest car to learn and adapt to because it’s so different from everything else we drive.
“I knew it was going to be a very tough thing to learn, but I felt I’ve become really comfortable in the car very quickly, which is the most important thing in our sport.”
FRECA is a step on the road to Formula 1 between F4 and FIA F3 and has unique characteristics compared to other cars on the road to F1.
Wharton said the Tatuus-built chassis is weighty and requires a unique style when hitting the brake pedal.
“It’s just super, super heavy compared to how the tyres work. It’s actually probably the most physical car I’ve driven, and I will drive. It’s just more physical in the way the technique of driving is quite different to normal.
“You have to use the braking a lot more to your advantage and you have to, let’s say, drive the car. You can’t let the car drive you. It’s quite physical, which changes the race results as well, with people getting tired.”
The Australian’s debut season in FRECA has seen the superb high of victory at Mugello and the low of a point-less round early in the year at Zandvoort.
He began with a third-place finish in Race 1 of the opening round at Hockenheim, a track he previously raced at in 2022 in ADAC F4.The PREMA driver honestly assessed his season so far in FRECA.
He said he has been quick all year, and the win at Mugello vindicated his hard work.
“I think it’s been quite tough, to be honest. We’ve probably had the most pace I’ve ever had in my career to date.
“Fast every weekend, always one of the fastest cars on track, which is normally the hardest thing. But this year has probably been the part that I’ve got to quite quickly.
“But I feel like two weekends ago in Mugello was probably a good thing for me, seeing that all the hard work is paying off this year. I’ve made a lot of new changes, a lot of new things this year. In Mugello, it just paid off massively.
“To get that first win for me is a big thing. But the overall year has not been perfect. But I feel like I’ve shown my pace and I’ve shown a lot of people what I can do.”
Wharton explained that he always knew he was capable of taking victory in FRECA and is eager to win more races during the rest of the season.
“I think it was a bit different from a breakthrough moment. I think I knew I could do it for the last six months.
“So to finally do it was just more to justify all the hard work that’s been putting in from my side, from the team side.
“And for me, it was going to come at some point. I knew I had been in this sport long enough to know that I was doing enough to be able to win a race this year.
“To get it done is really good, but as a racing driver, we want to go straight back to winning again next weekend. It’s been really cool, but still want to win some more this year.”
