Why Williams reserve Luke Browning feels 'ready to drive a Formula 1 car now' Williams' Luke Browning is confident he can use his upcoming FP1 appearances in Barcelona and Austria to demonstrate that he could be the next big star in F1. Luke Browning knows that junior drivers don’t get many chances to show just what they can do in a Formula 1 car. That’s why when he heads out on track during FP1 at this weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, he’s hoping to prove he’s more ready than ever before to claim one of the 22 elusive full-time seats. The 24-year-old is no stranger to the pressure of subbing in for a Williams driver, having experienced four Free Practice sessions already, but his rapid development means that he’s not the same racer he was when he made his first appearance during FP1 in Abu Dhabi at the tail end of 2024. With stints in F2 and an ongoing campaign in Japan’s challenging Super Formula series, as well as three years in the Grove outfit’s academy under his belt, Browning has reached the point where he firmly believes he could compete alongside the best in F1. For that reason, driving Alex Albon’s FW48 in Barcelona isn’t just a fun opportunity to take his work on the simulator into real life, but also represents an audition for a race seat in 2027, which Browning is hoping to nail down sooner rather than later. “Obviously, it's important for me to start performing in these Free Practices, but there's no pressure necessarily on lap times – it's just showing that I'm ready to get in the seat if I'm needed,” he said. “That's not necessarily pressure from above, that's just what I apply myself. “I want to hold myself to a good standard and