Not every motorsport talent is discovered in Europe. Louis Sharp began proving that from the other side of the world. Born on May 11, 2007 in Nottingham, United Kingdom, Sharp spent the most formative years of his life in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he began racing karts at the age of six. What followed was, according to karting sources in the country, the most successful junior racing career in New Zealand motorsport history.
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A record built title by title, championship after championship, before returning to Europe to compete in the single-seater ladder towards Formula 1. Sharp’s path has chapters of glory and chapters of learning. At eighteen, now racing with PREMA Racing in the 2026 F3 season, he stands at the moment where both kinds of experience either integrate into something greater or remain the story of a promise unfulfilled.
The boy who won everything there was to win in New Zealand
Sharp began racing in the Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship at the age of six. Progress was constant and rapid. By twelve he was the best karter of his age group in the entire country. Toyota New Zealand’s official source describes him as the junior driver who won more national title series than any driver before him, or since. A statement that speaks for itself.
Before making the jump to international karting, Sharp had already built a foundation of confidence and competitiveness in an environment that, while smaller than the European scene, lacks neither rigour nor competition.
The return to Europe and British titles
Sharp returned to the United Kingdom to compete in the European junior categories. In 2022 he raced in the F4 UAE Championship, winning the trophy class, which opened the door to the British F4 Championship in 2023. There, with Rodin Carlin, he was champion. At sixteen years old. A title that led directly to the next step up.
In 2024, once again with Rodin Motorsport, he won the GB3 Championship. Back to back British titles. A progression that recalled the best stories of British junior motorsport. The Autosport BRDC Award for outstanding young talent included Sharp as a finalist that year. The Formula 1 world was beginning to hear his name.
Formula 3: the year of hard learning
2025 was different. Sharp arrived in the FIA Formula 3 Championship loaded with titles and expectations, once again with Rodin Motorsport. But F3, with its ten European circuits and ultra compressed format of single practice sessions before qualifying, proved a higher step than anticipated.
Results took time to arrive. His debut season ended with nine points and twenty sixth in the championship standings, a performance that did not reflect his real pace, as he himself acknowledged. Post season testing at Jerez returned him to the path of work: Sharp completed both days with Prema Racing, the team he had already agreed with for 2026. The mindset was right.
2026 with PREMA: the talent fights back
PREMA Racing is the team that developed Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Mick Schumacher and many other names competing at the elite level of motorsport today. Sharp landing in that structure was not accidental. The team saw something that the 2025 statistics did not fully tell.
Australian James Wharton and French Chinese Enzo Deligny complete the lineup. For Sharp, the declared target for 2026 is consistency. Not perfection on every lap, but the race to race solidity that translates into points and positions that no one can ignore. With PREMA behind him, he has the tools. Now it depends on him.
TIMELINE
May 11, 2007
Born in Nottingham, UK. Grows up in Christchurch, New Zealand.
2014
Begins karting at age six in the Kartsport NZ National Schools Championship.
2014–2021
Dominates New Zealand karting. Wins more national series titles than any other driver in the country’s history.
2022
Returns to Europe. Competes in F4 UAE. Wins the trophy class.
2023
British F4 Champion with Rodin Carlin. Aged sixteen.
2024
GB3 Champion with Rodin Motorsport. Autosport BRDC Award finalist. Back-to-back British titles.
2025
FIA Formula 3 debut with Rodin Motorsport. Difficult season. 26th in championship with nine points. Post-season testing at Jerez with PREMA Racing.
October 2025
PREMA Racing officially announces Louis Sharp for the 2026 F3 season.
2026
Second F3 season with PREMA Racing alongside James Wharton and Enzo Deligny. Target: consistency and top eight finishes each weekend.
KEY QUOTE
- “I’m very, very happy and excited for next season. PREMA has a very rich history of winning championships and developing drivers for Formula 1. To be able to say that I’m going to be a PREMA driver makes me proud.”
- Louis Sharp — PREMA Racing official statement, October 2025
- “I think 2025 was definitely a tough year. Coming off a very successful 2023 and 24 I think the expectation was quite high.”
- Louis Sharp — virtual media session, 2026
- “If I can be in the top seven, in the top eight every weekend I think that’s what it takes to put a solid campaign together.”
- Louis Sharp — Pit Debrief, March 2026 (on his 2026 F3 targets with PREMA)
CURIOSITIES
- Won more national karting titles in New Zealand than any other driver in the country’s history, before the age of thirteen.
- Attended St. Bede’s College in Christchurch, New Zealand during his formative years before returning to Europe.
- Became the youngest British F4 champion of the modern era, winning the title at just sixteen years old in 2023.
- PREMA Racing developed Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Mick Schumacher. Sharp is the latest name on that list of bets.
- Has dual ties with New Zealand and the United Kingdom, born in Nottingham but raised in Christchurch.
- His PREMA teammate James Wharton is Australian. The Trans Tasman duo unites two Southern Hemisphere racers with much in common.
Louis Sharp is eighteen years old, has the best F3 team behind him, and the drive of someone who knows he has more talent than his 2025 figures suggest. Do you think PREMA is the environment he needed to make the leap, or will F3 continue to be a tough nut to crack for the Kiwi? Tell us your opinion in the comments.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, fiaformula3.com, premaracing.com, fiaformula3.com, toyota.co.nz, velocitynews.co.nz, speedcafe.com, motortime.es, pitdebrief.com, fiaformula4.com
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