Luke Browning will be Williams’ reserve driver for the 2026 Formula 1 season – The team has also confirmed its entire junior squad for this year
Williams has officially confirmed junior driver Luke Browning as its reserve driver for the 2026 Formula 1 season. The 23-year-old has been part of the Williams Driver Academy since 2023 and competed in Formula 2 last year, where he won one race and finished fourth overall.
Williams said: “As a reserve driver, Luke will play an important role in helping the team return to the front of the grid as Formula 1 enters a completely new era of regulations.”
“In addition to his duties as a standby driver on race weekends, Luke will continue to contribute to the development of the car through data analysis and simulator work,” the team said.
Alongside his duties as a reserve driver, the Briton will compete in the Japanese Super Formula series in 2026. He himself explains: “I’m looking forward to working with Alex [Albon] and Carlos [Sainz] to help the team move forward in this new era of Formula 1.”
Team principal James Vowles added: “It’s a proud moment to see Luke take on the role of reserve driver from 2026. He has made tremendous progress since joining the Academy in 2023.” Now the Briton is set to enter “the next phase of his racing career.”
Two big announcements for 2026
We’re excited to see you take on your role as Reserve Driver and competing in Japanese Super Formula, Luke pic.twitter.com/9bzoxLqtWA
— Atlassian Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsF1) January 16, 2026
At the same time, Williams also confirmed all other drivers alongside Browning for its own junior program in the new season on Friday.
Alessandro Giusti will spearhead the program. The 19-year-old won the French Formula 4 championship in 2022 and will enter his second Formula 3 season in 2026. In 2025, he finished tenth overall and secured two podium finishes.
Jade Jacquet will be the only woman representing Williams in the F1 Academy junior program, joined by Kean Nakamura-Berta in various regional formula championships and Oleksandr Bondarev in Italian Formula 4.
The list is completed by three kart drivers: Dean Hoogendoorn, Will Green, and Lucas Palacio.