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• Williams
Reserve Driver Luke Browning to complete the team's final two mandated
rookie FP1 sessions, driving Alex Albon’s FW48 in Mexico and Carlos Sainz’s
car in Brazil
• It will be Luke’s first time in the FW48 since Williams’
lightweight chassis upgrade, giving him first-hand understanding of the new
package
• Knowledge gained will feed directly into his simulator work,
supporting the team’s progress behind the scenes
• Luke Browning: “Each
session teaches you something new, and I will take every bit of learning I
can from this to keep pushing my development and the team forward."
Atlassian Williams F1 Team is pleased to confirm that Reserve Driver and
Academy member Luke Browning will complete the team’s final two mandated
rookie FP1 sessions at the Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix - driving Alex
Albon’s FW48 in Mexico before taking over Carlos Sainz’s car in Brazil.
Luke will step into the FW48 for the first time since the introduction
of the lightweight chassis upgrade in Baku, giving him a first-hand
understanding of the new package and what it brings in terms of performance
and learning. The knowledge he gains from these outings will feed directly
into his simulator work, supporting the team’s progress behind the scenes.
With these final two sessions, Luke will have driven in all four of
Williams’ mandated FP1 rookie sessions this season, which is a mark of the
team’s trust in him, his progression as a driver, and part of Williams’
proud tradition of giving young talent a pathway into F1. The Driver Academy
supports drivers on every rung of the motorsport ladder, bringing emerging
drivers into the programme and supporting each driver as they advance toward
the highest levels of competition.
This year, Luke has taken on the
role of Reserve Driver for Atlassian Williams F1 Team while racing for Team
Kondo Racing in Super Formula, Japan’s premier single-seater series and
widely considered the second-fastest in the world behind Formula 1.
As Reserve, Luke plays an important role in helping to push the team forward
in Formula 1’s new regulations era. In addition to race weekend stand-by
duties, Luke continues to help develop the car through data analysis and
simulator work.
Luke Browning: "I’m happy to be back in the FW48 and
grateful to be trusted by Atlassian Williams F1 Team with all four of the
team’s rookie FP1 sessions this year. It’s a great opportunity to get more
laps in the car, while building my understanding of the new package and
bringing useful data and feedback back to Grove. Each session teaches you
something new, and I will take every bit of learning I can from this to help
keep pushing my development and the team forward."
Sven Smeets,
Sporting Director: "Luke continues to prove himself as a valuable part of
the team, both through his simulator work and his performances on track.
Giving him the chance to get behind the wheel of the FW48 across two race
weekends is an important step in his development and a natural progression.
It’s valuable for us to have consistency in the driver across all four of
our rookie test sessions, as it allows us to improve the correlation between
the data we gather on track and our simulator work. We have a talented group
of young drivers in the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy, and we’re pleased
to continue providing opportunities like this to support their progression
and development." |
