The 16-year-old Carlin driver was third in each race as he flexed his title credentials at Brands Hatch.

It left him second in the Championship standings and just five points off the leader after the first weekend.

And the talented racer believes there’s a lot more to come.

He said: “It was a good, solid start. We didn’t win the battle, but it’s about the war. It’s about looking long-term at the whole season.

“Three podiums on the opening weekend was a really good effort. It sets me up nicely for the rest of the season and gives me lots of confidence going forward.”

James - the English driver, born in Singapore, now living in Herts – finished on the podium four times last season on his way to finishing tenth overall. 

But after just one weekend with new team Carlin, he showed why he is aiming for a silverware-laden season this time around. 

His pace was extremely good in official practice posting the fastest time on Friday and this continued in qualifying where he finished second, 0.016 seconds off pole.

Starting second in Race One, James did not get a good start, but in a fairly quiet affair, stayed in third position for the whole race, holding off any challenge for his podium position. 

He started seventh on the reverse grid of the second race – a race interrupted by rain and red flags. 

At a restart, he got a brilliant start that saw him move into third and then into second, quickly catching up with the leader. 

But he was unable to get past some resolute defending and the third-placed driver spotted the chance to overtake them both and hold on for the win and leave James third.

The third race was similar to the first, although on this occasion James started in third, before staying there for the whole race.

With some tyre-wear, he found the going hard and was given a five-second penalty for going off the track.

Given his pace, however, there was a sufficient gap between him and the chasing pack to hold out for his third podium of the weekend and ensure he finished among the leading title-chasers.

He added: “I couldn’t do anything about the tyre-wear, but I have learnt how to deal with it now. 

“It is a difficult place to overtake so to come third three times was a really good effort, especially given the reverse grid in Race Two. We ended up as the only driver to finish on the podium in all three races.

“Knowing the pace we had all weekend and how other future tracks are longer or have more opportunities to overtake, I’m feeling really positive about the season."