Luke Browning: Williams reserve driver on his delayed F1 2026 debut and life in Japan

They all headed to Japan to race in Super Formula (or Japan Formula 3000/Formula Nippon as it used to be known), a path Williams F1 reserve driver Luke Browning is now following.

Browning was leading the primary F1 feeder series, Formula 2, in mid-2025 when he and Williams were deciding his 2026 programme.

Graduating to an F1 race seat in 2026 wasn’t an option, and F2 champions are barred from re-entering the championship for the following year. Browning was in contention throughout 2025 - which meant it was risky to plan a return for him in 2026 - although he ended up finishing fourth overall.

Many reserve drivers end up with a programme of supporting an F1 team in the simulator, Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) running and some first practice runs with no actual race programme - but Williams team principal James Vowles was keen for Browning to stay race fit.

“I think it was the right decision for us to continue racing,” Browning told Raceteq in an exclusive interview. 

“At the end of the day, we're racing drivers, and if you don't get the pressure of the lights going out every couple of months, I think you might lose that under-pressure feel, which I absolutely am drawn to.”

He said it was important “not to have any cobwebs on my racecraft”.

From F2 to Japanese Super Formula

Super Formula has helped keep Browning race-fit, but it’s also been a huge challenge as one of the most competitive racing series outside of F1.

The Dallara-built (the same constructor that makes F2 chassis) SF23 chassis was only four-to-five seconds slower than the back of the F1 pack at Suzuka this year.

The grid features veteran Japanese drivers like ex-F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi and drivers with vast experience of the circuits that Super Formula races on - tracks that were all new to Browning for 2026.

Coming from F2, there was also a big new engineering challenge for Browning.

“The engineering standard in Formula 2 is of an F1 level in many ways, which is, honestly, probably the reason why we don't get involved in it very much as drivers in Formula 2 and Formula 3,” Browning explained.

“We often just drive, whereas you go over there [to Super Formula] and actually there's a lot more onus put on the driver to develop the car, put it in the right window, understand what's going on underneath him, which wasn't necessarily expected of me in Europe. 

So that's been really interesting. You also just get a lot more laps. Like the tyre in Formula 2 and Formula 3, they don't last as long as they do over there.

“We can do set-up options on the same tyre for half a day and it would be pretty consistent.

“Whereas, over here, often, you go out, you do a lap, and then the second lap's maybe three tenths off, and then after that, there's quite a big significant [tyre] degradation.

“So it's difficult to do coordination and set-up options on, which I've had the opportunity to learn and do over there.”

Browning has started brightly in 2026 with two fourth place finishes in his first two weekends in the championship, but it’s not the results that are a priority as far as Williams is concerned.

In fact, Browning’s even compromised qualifying laps in Super Formula to earn valuable set-up lessons.

“There's such fine margins over there that when you've been doing that Super Formula for so many years and dealt with experienced engineers out there, you know they really, really know what they're doing,” Browning said. 

“So, we're definitely playing catch-up over there, but honestly, it's probably not too important for me this year how the results go over there.

“It's more of just a learning curve, and we're sacrificing qualifying laps and preparation to do set-up changes that are not necessarily going to be helpful to performance, but are going to be helpful for me before going into Formula 1.

A delayed 2026 debut for Browning

Browning’s Super Formula results aren’t the priority, but his work behind the scenes with Williams in F1 is.

He’s completed TPC days at Austin, Budapest and Monza in older Williams machinery, but most useful of all has been Browning’s work on Williams’s 2026 simulator.

He’s helped the team develop that car in the virtual world, testing a number of crucial developments Williams has brought to the track to tackle the problems its overweight 2026 car has produced. 

The 2026 generation of F1 cars with their complex energy management requirements has been a lot for F1 drivers to get their heads around.

But Browning, with his lifelong experience of racing in the virtual world - including being team-mate to Max Verstappen - hasn’t found it too daunting.

“There's a lot of talk about it being difficult or it being very complicated, [but] the way it's explained to me, it's quite simple to be honest,” Browning said.

“I feel like I'm on top of it all in the simulator, and there's nothing that I'm necessarily missing in terms of knowledge.

“I agree, maybe for the spectators or for the general public, it could be a little bit more difficult than last year, possibly, but for me, I feel in a good place with it.”

He thinks sim racing has been a “massive advantage”.

“The amount of sim racing I've done in the sim, we've got so many buttons, we set them to everything and then we play around with it essentially until our heart's content and find what's the quickest combination.”

Browning had been set to make his real-world debut in the 2026 car at the Barcelona Grand Prix, but technical issues with the FW48 meant he couldn’t leave the garage.

It meant Browning had to wait another two weeks before making his bow in FP1 at the Austrian GP, completing 29 laps and placing 18th in the session, just over three tenths off regular Williams driver Alex Albon.

“It’s a very different car compared to last year’s as well as TPC testing, but it was great to get to grips with it and get behind the wheel,” Browning said.

Beyond being useful to Browning’s development, he could also contribute to the team’s performance in Austria.

“Before Carlos [Sainz, Williams F1 driver] goes out, I can tell him if a kerb's taken away, for example, which I think you'll probably see in the race director's notes in [Turn]3 and T10, and how much to take and how much was usable for me,” Browning explained.

“This is the sort of feedback which I can give as nuggets of knowledge which can help Carlos before getting back in.”

Browning has a claim to being Vowles’s first signing when he took over the Williams team principal role in January 2023. Vowles had been impressed with Browning’s work for Mercedes as a sim driver when Vowles was Mercedes’ motorsport strategy director. 

With his Super Formula campaign, work behind the scenes for Williams, and further planned FP1 outings on the horizon, Browning’s task is a simple one: convince Vowles that he’s the driver Williams needs should either Carlos Sainz or Alex Albon leave the team.

“Hopefully I can show James and the people around me that I'm ready,” was Browning’s clear wish prior to his FP1 bow.

Browning is following a somewhat unconventional path towards his F1 dream compared to his fellow drivers, many of whom graduated straight from F2 to F1. Yet, the path is built with purpose and it has been proven by the likes of the Schumachers, current Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, and former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

If - and that’s a big if given Williams hasn’t signalled any change in its current F1 driver line-up - Vowles wants to call him up, every FP1 session, Super Formula lap, and overnight flight will be very much worth it.