Luke Browning is currently in the midst of a very competitive title fight for the 2025 F2 Championship in his rookie F2 season. He is P4 in the championship standings with a total of 125 points to his name. The British driver is only 29 points behind the current Championship leader, Leonardo Fornaroli.
This will not be the first time we see Browning fighting for a championship title. The British driver was fighting for the F3 Championship title just the season prior. Browning’s F3 campaign ended on a high note as he finished the 2024 F3 season third in the championship after being a title contender for the majority of the season.
When reflecting on his championship fights in both F3 and F2 championships, the Williams-backed driver credits his success to the hard work he has put in since stepping into single-seater racing. He also expressed his appreciation to the people in his life that has accompanied and supported him on the journey thus far.
The journey to F2
Browning’s journey to Formula 2 involved progressing through the ranks, including winning the British F4 Championship and GB3 Championship. His journey to becoming a title contender in the 2025 F2 Championship however, truly started during his F3 campaign. As Browning put it himself, it has been a “learning curve” from when he first started racing in F3. However, the British driver also added that he believed that he always had the raw potential that needed to be trained.
“It’s been a learning curve, that’s the only way to put it. I’m a lot more developed now than when I first jumped into Formula 3. Natural raw talent and pace was always there, right for the first time hopping in back in Bahrain.”
Browning’s successes thus far have been a result of the experiences and lessons from previous races and championships that have shaped him into the driver he is today. After achieving impressive results in F3, and now with the hopes for a championship win in F2. Browning is looking to achieve even more as he continues to learn from his time on and off track.
“But becoming the finished product has been a real journey over the last three years and I’ve really enjoyed it. Here we are in Formula 2, finishing third in Formula 3 last year, having won in Macau and now with some title hopes in F2, it’s been exciting.”
“The development curve has been steep, and my ceiling has not been reached, so I am learning more and more.”
Browning’s rookie F3 campaign
Browning made his F3 debut in 2023 with Hitech Pulse-Eight and finished the season 15th in the F3 championship standings. Despite having a strong start to his rookie season and even achieving his maiden podium finish in the Barcelona Sprint Race. The remainder of the season was tough as he learnt to adapt to the new racing series and F3 car. Browning was also driving at tracks he had limited experience at, putting him at a disadvantage. His P15 finish in the championship was one of his lowest since moving to single-seater racing in 2017.
Bad luck and his own mistakes also played a role as he earned several penalties throughout the season. His most significant penalty that season was a disqualification from the Monza Sprint Race for a technical infringement, where the lowest point of his car’s side floor fin exceeded the regulatory limits. When reflecting on his rookie F3 season, he acknowledged the many rookie mistakes on track. He also stressed how the shorter F3 season calendar meant every mistake made was much more costly.
“Anyone that remembers my rookie F3 year, there were a lot of mistakes. But the pace was ballistic, but a lot of rookie mistakes, a lot of bad luck, probably the year I had the most go wrong and naturally in Formula 3 you’ve only got 10 chances.”
“If you screw up six of them, it’s very easy to make three mistakes and then have three things go wrong and that’s 60% of the year gone and the rest of the 40% you can’t do anything about it.”
The 2024 F3 championship title fight
While his rookie F3 season was one of the lowest points of his single-seater career, Browning’s 2024 season saw Browning fighting for the championship title. Browning’s second season in F3 had a much more impressive start. The British driver had clinched his maiden Feature Race win of the series at the season opener round at the 2024 Bahrain GP weekend. He would later go on to achieve three more podium placements. This included a second Feature Race victory at the 2024 Austrian GP. As a token of his good performances, he received the opportunity to take place in six F2 rounds in 2024, in replace of Franco Colapinto.
“But that’s the way it is. 2023 Formula 3 was definitely the year I learnt the most. 2024 was the year to put it together, and we did that. It wasn’t quite enough to win the Championship, but we were close to it.”
Missing out on the F3 Championship title
Browning remained a strong contender throughout the year. However, inconsistent results at the end of the season prevented him from winning the championship. By the end of a difficult weekend at the 2024 British GP, Browning had lost the championship lead and remained third for the rest of the season. He ended the season with a total of 128 points, losing the championship to Fornaroli by just 25 points.
“Coming in within six points into the last round of the Championship, having that swept away at Silverstone, but I think realistically, how could that have changed.”
Even though he narrowly missed out on the title, Browning is pleased with the progress he made in F3, nevertheless. The British driver believes that he and the team had the pace they needed. However, a series of unfortunate incidents and missed opportunities were what prevented him from winning the title.
“I think there were a lot of things that didn’t go our way, we had the pace all year to win the Championship, but equally we look back at Formula 3, I think I’ve won something in every category I’ve been in now.”
The 2025 F2 championship
Indeed, Browning has succeeded in almost every racing category he has participated in thus far. Even Formula 3, despite his tough rookie season. Browning dominated the 2023 FIA F3 World Cup at the Macau Grand Prix, winning the main race after securing pole position and winning the qualification race. Now he is looking to continue this momentum and take the title in F2.
“I won Formula 4, I won GB3, I won the World Cup in Formula 3, and now the next step will be to win something in F2, and the only thing to do is win the Formula 2 Championship, so looking forward to that.”
Browning is the only driver in the top 5 of the 2025 F2 Championship Standings without a race win this season thus far. However, where Browning lacks in race wins, he makes up for in consistency. Which many might argue is far more important to winning the championship.
After round 10 of the 2025 F2 calendar, Browning has yet to leave a weekend empty-handed. The Briton has scored points in at least the Sprint or Feature Race every weekend. However, Browning believes a maiden pole or even a victory is coming soon as we approach the second half of the 2025 F2 season.
“Formula 2 is going very well. We started off with a podium in Melbourne, followed by a run of podiums in every round. Not quite had the ultimate pace to put it on pole yet, but I’ve got a feeling it’s coming. So I am going to be pushing for it in the second half of the season.”
Coming into the second half of the 2025 season
Coming into the second half of the F2 season, after a well-deserved and recharging summer break, Browning is ready to push harder for the title. The 2025 F2 Championship is tight, and anything can happen in the next few races. Nevertheless, Browning is confident he and the team are on the right track.
“Let’s just see how it comes to us. We are not getting ahead of ourselves, the team is doing a great job, and the Championship is well within our reach. I think it’s the tightest year Formula 2 has ever had, in terms of Qualifying and the points split, it’s incredibly tight.”
“I am looking forward to pushing on now, getting more experience in the car and going back to tracks that I have already driven before.”
On driving a Formula One car
Browning made his F1 weekend debut at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Free Practice 1 session, where he drove in Williams Racing’s FW46. He also participated in the end-of-season Young Driver Test. The Briton also drove Williams’ FW47 earlier this season at the 2025 Bahrain GP Free Practice 1 session.
These sessions gave Browning a taste of the speed and machinery of Formula One, the goal that he has been working towards since he started racing. When speaking on these opportunities, the British driver is grateful to be trusted with these cars, and he hopes for more opportunities to be in a Formula One car in the future.
“It’s amazing to be trusted with the F1 machinery. I love Formula 1, it’s the goal for the future, and to be testing these cars I really feel like I am getting up to speed in them now, so it’s fantastic.”
“I am loving every minute I get to drive a Formula 1 car for Williams, long may it last and I hope to get more opportunities to drive them in the future.”
It’s been a long journey
Browning reflected on his growth to the driver he is today, as he competes for the 2025 F2 Championship title. Over the last three years, since his F4 debut, Browning has proven to consistently progress. He remembered the driver he was when he won his first wet race and spoke about the growth he had as he continued to progress up the different series.
“What’s funny is the people who have just come into my life in the past three years look at it as the last three years, but the progression for me has come from the first year in Formula 4.”
“I won the first race that I’d ever done in the wet at Brands Hatch, and I look back at that, look at who I was then to what I am now, it’s huge. It’s funny that I have this wider perspective, while this is just another step in the ladder and just natural evolution.”
Browning also showed his appreciation to the people who have supported him throughout his racing career and shared that they are the reason he continues to push himself to give more on track.
“I’m so lucky to have the people around me and the support I have today, to be able to extract more and more from myself because the ceiling is so high.”
Support and improvement
Browning shared that the support from those around him, Hitech TGR and the Williams Driver Academy, paired with his own efforts and hard work through training, has played a major role in his growth as a driver and the improvement of his racecraft.
The Briton is ready to continue improving and impressing in his rookie F2 season, acknowledging that a second campaign in any category must be bigger than the first. With the impressive results he has seen in his rookie F2 season, it will be a wonder to see what 2026 brings for him.
“But the more that’s invested in me, the more time, the effort, the tests I do with Williams, the more I drive the Formula 2 car, I feel like I am only getting better.”
“I am ready to continue with that, and I think the experience in Formula 2 and experience in general make such a massive difference. Coming back for a second year in F2 must be massive; coming back for a second year in F3 must be huge. This is why it’s so impressive what we planned to do in our first year of Formula 2.”
