Photo: Williams Racing
Luke Browning will get his first Formula 1 experience with Williams when he drives in free practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the subsequent young driver test.
As one of its academy drivers, Browning has been selected by Williams to fulfil the requirement to run a rookie driver in each of its cars during one Friday practice session over the course of the year.
Franco Colapinto had already taken over the car of Logan Sargeant in practice at Silverstone, putting in a performance that would lead him to take on the drive over the latter part of the season. Browning will take over the sister car of Alex Albon for first practice at Yas Marina next Friday.
Signed as a Williams junior driver at the start of 2023, Browning won the Macau Grand Prix at the end of last season before finishing third in the FIA Formula 3 Championship this year. He went on to make his Formula 2 debut with ART Grand Prix in Baku, replacing fellow Williams protege Zak O’Sullivan, and will continue racing in that seat for the season-ending rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
“Luke has had an impressive Formula 3 season and has taken the transition to Formula 2 in his stride, performing well from his first outing in Baku,” said Williams sporting director Sven Smeets, who also oversees its academy.
“Throughout this year, he has made important contributions to the team through his development work and has demonstrated rapid progress in his understanding, maturity, and race craft.
“We are now looking forward to giving Luke the opportunity to drive the FW46 in Abu Dhabi as the next step in his development as a Williams Racing Academy driver.”