Luke Browning named reserve by Williams for 2026 F1 season, as the team lists its academy drivers and their racing programmes.
Having joined Williams Drive Academy Programme in 2023, Browning has made steady steps to secure the reserve role with the F1 team for the 2026 season. The Brit’s announcement comes post the news of Victor Martins being named the test and development driver of the British team.
While Martins will dovetail his Williams duties alongside WEC drive with Signatech Alpine, Browning will compete in Japan’s Super Formula for Team Kondo Racing, a Toyota-powered team. The Brit will continue in the development of the F1 car through data analysis and simulator work.
In addition to Browning, Williams confirmed its full line-up of F1 academy drivers for the 2026 season. They listed Alessandro Giusti (France) along with Jade Jacquet (France), Kean Nakamura-Berta (Japan/Slovakia), Oleksandr Bondarev (Ukraine), Dean Hoogendoorn (Netherlands), Will Green (UK) and Lucas Palacio (USA).
Racing programme for 2026 –
Giusti – F3 with MP Motorsport (second season)
Jacquet – F1 Academy with ART GP (debut)
Nakamura-Berta – Formula Regional Europe and Formula Regional Middle East (debut)
Bondarev – Italian F4 with Prema (second season)
Hoogendoorn – OK category (debut)
Green – OKJ category (second season)
Palacio – OKJ karting (debut)
“I’m incredibly excited to be stepping up as Reserve Driver with Atlassian Williams F1 Team this year,” said Browning. “The Academy has been instrumental in my growth, supporting me through both Formula 3 and Formula 2 while giving me the chance to get up to speed with modern F1 machinery through testing and FP1 sessions. I look forward to working alongside Alex and Carlos to drive the team forward in this new era for Formula 1.
“I’m also happy to confirm that 2026 will be my rookie season in Super Formula. This will be a completely new challenge, and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in! As my next step up towards a full-time Formula 1 seat, this gives me another chance to show how I’ve developed on track and continue to build my skills in a new environment and culture.”
Team boss James Vowles said: “It’s a proud moment to see Luke stepping into the Reserve Driver role from 2026. He has made immense progress since he joined the Academy in 2023 and has supported the team’s journey back towards the front of the grid through his involvement in simulator and FP1 work, which has been invaluable as we enter this new era of regulations. His Super Formula campaign will allow him to gain more on-track experience and continue his growth as a driver, and we look forward to seeing him back on track as he enters this next stage of his racing career.”
And Sporting Director Sven Smeets added: “We’re pleased to confirm our Williams F1 Team Driver Academy line-up for this year and recognise the depth of talent progressing through the programme, from our youngest driver in Lucas to Luke’s role as Reserve. The Driver Academy remains a central part of how we support and guide young talent and look forward to seeing how each driver performs this year.”
Drivers departed during/post 2025: Lia Block, Sara Matsui and Victor Martins (new role).
Here’s news on Victor Martins
Here’s Carlos Sainz on his inputs
Details of other F1 driver academies –