Williams Formula 1 reserve driver Luke Browning will make two FP1 outings at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and Austrian Grand Prix later this month, while F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli will make his debut for McLaren in Barcelona first practice.
Browning, who is dovetailing his Williams role with a rookie campaign in Super Formula this year, will step into Alex Albon’s FW48 in Barcelona this weekend for first practice and then Carlos Sainz’s F1 car at the Red Bull Ring later this month.
It will mark the British driver’s first outing in the new generation F1 cars, having made four previous FP1 outings for Williams across 2024 and 2025.
“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the FW48 for the first time, and to have two opportunities to experience the car first-hand in the European season makes it even more special,” Browning said.
“I've been working hard to prepare so that I can make the most of these sessions and help the team plan and prepare for the race weekends ahead. I’m incredibly thankful to everyone at Atlassian Williams F1 Team for their continued trust and support, and I can’t wait to get out on track.”
Williams sporting director Sven Smeets sees the FP1 outings as a vital development opportunity both for the driver and the team when Browning is called on for simulator work.
“Luke continues to prove himself as a valuable part of the team, both through his simulator work and his performances on track,” Smeets said. “Giving him his first opportunity to get behind the wheel of the FW48 across two race weekends is an important step in his development and a natural progression.
“We have a talented group of young drivers in the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy, and we’re pleased to continue providing opportunities like this to support drivers’ progression and development.”
Meanwhile at McLaren, Fornaroli will make his F1 debut as he is handed a first FP1 outing in Barcelona. The 2025 F2 champion will hop into Lando Norris's MCL40 F1 car.
Each F1 team must run rookies in four FP1 sessions per season and due to the disrupted start to the season and the new regulations, a minimal number of rookie outings have been completed so far.
Technically, Racing Bulls has fulfilled two of its four rookie FP1 sessions already, given Arvid Lindblad qualified for those in Australia and China at the start of the season as the only rookie on the grid this year.
Aston Martin put Jak Crawford into Fernando Alonso’s car for first practice at the Japanese GP, but so far no other FP1 rookie outings have been registered.
The high number of sprint race events have meant teams did not opt to run rookies in the only practice session in China, Miami and Canada, while Monaco isn’t favoured for rookie running given the extra challenges the Monte-Carlo circuit poses with the need to give drivers as much practice as possible to build up speed before qualifying.
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs were likely to be a decent options for FP1 outings given they were not sprint events, but the postponement of both rounds meant teams were denied that opportunity.
