LUKE BROWNING
The 22-year-old Macau winner is looking to take this year’s FIA Formula 3 championship on his way to Formula 1
Browning feels well prepared for season
My aim this year is to win the FIA Formula 3 championship, coming back for my second year in the championship with Hitech Pulse-Eight. I know it’s not going to be easy; the standard in FIA F3 is so high. But to win the Macau Grand Prix late last year and then to top FIA F3 pre-season testing times showed the effort we put in over the winter and how well we’ve prepared going into the year.
Last year on my FIA F3 debut I hardly knew the circuits, I’d done no testing before the start of the year, there was completely different tyres – the Formula 1 rubber – to what is used in Britain. And there’s so many things to understand in the FIA F3 car, so many little caveats of knowledge that until you experience it you just don’t know. But having that experience will be my advantage going into this year.
And in 2023 we were ballistically quick sometimes. For example we finished P4 in Monaco’s feature race, and on average we had the fastest overall race pace throughout the year.
Over the winter I’ve done thousands of laps on the simulator, a lot of understanding what worked for Macau and how we can apply that, also it’s the relationship with my engineer and my team, it’s all these foundation blocks that have been built. I’m a lot fitter than I was last year, I’m a lot more mentally prepared and I’m not being thrown in with virtually no notice like I was then, when I knew only a week more or less before the season’s start I’d be driving. This time I knew well before the new year that I was going to be with Hitech in FIA F3 again and that we’re going for our title push year. So it gave me a lot of time to prepare and that shows.
Ultimately consistency will prevail in this year’s championship. Probably I won’t be the fastest every weekend, this is unrealistic, but I’ll be making the most out of the weekends that I’m not so strong, and I’ve got a lot better at that since last year and that will hopefully make the difference.
We struggled last year a little bit in qualifying. You turn up to an unfamiliar circuit, you’ve got two laps in free practice, then you’ve got two laps in qualifying and you’ve got to be there. Also FIA F3 qualifying sessions are absolute chaos with 30 cars all queuing at the last corner. It was another learning curve last year getting the tyres in the right window so that after you’re waiting around for
Browning beat big names to Macau GP victory 30-40 seconds they’re still there when you get to Turn 1.
In addition, in FIA F3 the top 16 is split by about four tenths and top 12 is the reversedgrid split; if you just nip out the top 12, which I did a couple of times last year, it becomes very difficult. But regardless 2023 was a very good learning experience and that learning year is what I needed to really have this feeling I have and go for the title.
Macau was an incredible experience. Looking at the names that have won it, to put my name on the list is pretty special and it was in the car we’re going for the championship with this year. Also to win against not only F3 drivers that I’m going to be racing against this year, who might be title rivals, but race winners in Formula 2, Formula E drivers, IndyCar drivers, was an incredible achievement for me.
The British tracks prepared me for the Macau circuit. Places like Oulton Park, you’ve really got to use all of the track and really be on the limit everywhere, plus you’ve got to really understand how best to take this undulation or this type of corner. The last corner at Oulton, for example, where you come into the dip and come out of it is very similar to a middle-sector corner of Macau and something that I learnt at Oulton I applied there and it worked quite well. So it’s things like this that really helped me.
I’m with Williams in the junior programme, and the team’s goal for me and my goal is solely F1. So I want to develop the team, I want to win races with it and I want to win World championships with it and with the platform Williams has given me, if I perform I’ll be there.