Academy Report: Luke's Season Finale

Luke Browning and Zak O'Sullivan took to the Temple of Speed in a particularly dramatic four races of feeder series action.

The F3 season reached its finale, with the championship decided on the final corner, while Safety Car interventions turned the F2 order upside down.

See how our duo fared on a weekend when Franco Colapinto showed where the Williams Racing Driver Academy can take a young star.

A messy qualifying Friday in F3 saw nearly half the field, including Luke, receiving penalties for their involvement in trying to avoid being without a slipstream on their fast lap.

The stewards' decision meant Luke would start both races from P17 in the championship showdown against his main two rivals Leonardo Fornaroli and Gabriele Mini.

Despite the mid-pack starting place, Luke was quick to make up positions during Saturday's Sprint Race, jumping up to places in the opening lap, and reaching P11 and the title contenders after a Safety Car intervention.

Another appearance by the SC late in the race allowed Luke another chance to battle, and he passed championship leader Fornaroli in a brave overtake, eventually securing points and a P6 classification.

However, Sunday wasn't fruitful, even though Luke again had a super start to gain early positions.

A spin at Ascari when pushing for an overtake tumbled him down the order, and a post-race penalty meant a P20 classification.

Luke secured P3 in the 2024 standings to end his season after taking points in every round of his second year of FIA Formula 3.

Fine margins repeatedly displayed in F1 also stretch down the ladder, and Zak missed out on reverse grid pole by just one-tenth at Monza.

That midfield start ended up being Zak's undoing, and his involvement in an incident on the long run to Turn 1 sadly ended his Sprint Race before the first braking zone.

Sunday's Feature Race began with a better start, and Zak avoided the carnage in the opening lap to be P9 as others ran off the road.

That encouraging pace remained through the race, but a Safety Car appearance after Zak had pitted changed the running order to massively advantage those behind him, and he finished the race in P13.

F3 might be over but the season is still running for our other Driver Academy members.

Zak will be back in Baku when F1 visits in a fortnight, while our karters, F1 Academy, and FRECA representatives are all hoping to end their 2024 on a high.