Luke Browning got his first taste of Formula 2 machinery at round 12 of the championship in Baku.
The Brit finished third in this season’s Formula 3 campaign with Hitech, registering three podiums, with two wins in the Feature Races in Bahrain and Austria.
Browning was called up by ART Grand Prix for the remainder of the season, replacing Zak O’Sullivan after he was forced to pull out of Formula 2 due to a funding issue.
Several other F2 drivers shared supportive messages to O’Sullivan as he looks to get back on the grid. With one Williams Academy driver in for another, Browning was looking to seize the opportunity and perform well in the step above.
Browning was not the only F3 driver making his debut in Formula 2, as Gabriele Mini replaced Oliver Bearman at PREMA after the latter replaced Kevin Magnussen at Haas in Formula 1. Christian Mansell got his debut for Trident as he replaces Roman Stanek for the rest of the year.
Luke Browning ‘gutted’ with Feature Race restart on Formula 2 debut in Baku
Qualifying in 11th, Browning held position in the Sprint Race to finish in between championship contenders Zane Maloney and Isack Hadjar.
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In the Feature Race, the Brit narrowly avoided a horror crash on the grid after Kush Maini failed to get going, resulting in five drivers retiring on the spot and the red flag putting an immediate halt to proceedings.
After the race got back underway, Browning worked his way up to finish in seventh and score four points, as Richard Verschoor took his first win of the season.
Speaking on the F2 website, the 23-year-old admitted he was ‘gutted’ to do a rolling start for the restart, but was proud to make his F2 debut.
“I was a bit gutted to do the rolling start, but I think it would have been nice to do another race start, but it’s okay. It was very calm,” he said.
“It feels very nice to officially say I’m an F2 driver, that’s a cool feeling for me. I didn’t expect this a few years ago, so thanks to the people around me, thanks to Williams for putting me in this place and I feel super grateful to have their support and to be here. I’m hoping for more points in Qatar.”
READ MORE: Oliver Bearman shares what it’s like going back to F2 after F1 outings
Gabriel Bortoleto leads the Formula 2 championship heading into Qatar
Following the race in Baku, F2 sees a new championship leader heading into the final two rounds of the season.
After finishing fifth and fourth in the respective races, Gabriel Bortoleto has taken the lead of the championship by four and a half points over Isack Hadjar.
Hadjar has endured a difficult run of form, finishing in the points in one of the last seven races – that being a win in the Feature Race at Spa. Whereas Bortoleto has a reverse record, only finishing outside the points once in the last seven races, picking up two podiums in the process.
With the Brazilian now holding the advantage – albeit a slim one – going into the two-month break, the final races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are sure to set up a tense climax to the season.