Luke Browning enters Formula 3 season as contender after turbulent debut year

After an unpredictable debut year in Formula 3, Luke Browning comes to Bahrain looking to establish his place as a championship contender for the 2024 season.

The 22 year-old British driver enters his sophomore year fresh off winning the Formula 3 World Cup in Macau after a rookie campaign spent fighting for podiums, but also struggling with midfield tangles.

With the first practice session of the season underway in a matter of minutes at the Sakhir circuit, Browning stands in pit lane shoulder-to-shoulder with Hitech Pulse-Eight founder and director Oliver Oakes.

The pair are relaxed, smiling and slouched over the back of the compact Haas pit wall as team mechanics make last minute adjustments.

It's an extreme contrast from his debut last year, with the announcement of his entry into the field just two days before the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"There's no doubt this year is important," said Browning on Wednesday.

"Obviously last year, my first year in the car, we signed very late to the championship."

"To be truthful, I only knew I think a week before the race weekend, maybe two weeks."

Browning highlights the changes in his preparations - spending the off-season in the simulator, working with the same team and the same engineer as 2023.

It's also the same setup that took him to the Formula 3 World Cup title in November.

With no experience at the notoriously tight street circuit, Browning took pole and then won the qualifying race, before holding off his rivals to take victory in the Grand Prix.

His mentality for this year ahead is shared by team director Oakes.

Oakes spoke to media a fortnight earlier during pre-season testing, with his calm and approachable demeanour also revealing the focus and goal-setting mentality that he instils on his team.

"With Luke, last year I'd say, an interesting season where he showed a lot of promise."

"He probably didn't quite put it together when it mattered, he wouldn't mind me saying, and then he almost made up for that, in a good way, in Macau."

"So he's now got to do it this year, consistently, weekend after weekend."

Speaking to Browning in the same venue two weeks later, the message is the same.

"We crashed in like a third of the races, so it was not a great way to finish the season… it just didn't go to plan."

"So to end my first year in F3 as the World Cup champion shows that we do have the capability to be up there, to win the championship this year.

"And you know, that's the motivation for the team… with the team behind me I feel confident that people have got around me and I'm hoping that more consistency this year correlates into a championship fight.

"Last year, when we were there, we were rapid. And then when we weren't, we maybe had a wheel falling off or didn't finish the race.

"So just calming that down, maybe not going 110% and getting 95% in some places is enough… at the end of the day, it's about the points game.

"I've been in a couple of championships fights now… I know how to drive in the championships, but obviously when you're trying to prove yourself on F1 among everyone, you're trying extra hard.

"I think what we've given ourselves the ability to do over winter testing is work on our pace, work on our preparation, and I think it just seems to be coming more natural now.

"In testing, even in Macau, or the last few times I've been in the car, I'm not necessarily trying as hard as I was last year. It's just easier.

"With that comes less desperation, less hastiness, and my mind is clear when I'm driving. I think that will be a big key this year."

It is a message that seems to be echoed by most successful drivers in the junior series - achieving consistency is more important than scrapping to the front each time you hit the circuit and the risks that come with it.

To hear it from Browning is a sign of a clear head and of his growing experience, and with two rookies completing the Hitech lineup, it will also be a test to see how he can manage those relationships.

Oakes jokes that the experience card will be dropped as soon as a lap is driven in anger.

"I think it's quite helpful to have a good mix," he says.

"It'll be interesting to see this year if it's a rookie or someone who's done a year in F3 who takes the title."

"Now the drivers need to get in and deliver quickly," he says about the Formula 3 grid in general.

"I think that's something interesting the rookies will find out stepping into this level."

"They don't get millions of laps like you do in sort of their lowest stuff, so we get to see who's quite talented to get up to speed quickly.

"And I think that's exciting."

Oakes is direct but his excitement for the season ahead is infectious.

Back to the live action, and Browning has just gone fastest in the one practice session ahead of qualifying.

The session was red-flagged with minutes to go as Gabriele Minì spun and was beached at turn four.

The Hitech driver had traded the top spot with Trident driver Leonardo Fornaroli, who was just 0.055s off the pace at the end of the session.

“We’re obviously flat out here…” he jokes as I step into the Hitech garage after practice, his team taking a quick break for lunch ahead of qualifying.

I tell him that his comments are too positive to be believable as a team boss, and that I don’t want to portray his enthusiasm as saccharine.

“Just tell it how you see it… the truth will always get you more clicks!” says Oakes.

Watch every race of the FIA Formula 3 season on Kayo Sports.