Academy Preview: Gearing up for Lusail

Williams Racing will have more than two drivers on track in Lusail as the Williams Racing Driver Academy supports the Qatar Grand Prix.

Luke Browning and Lia Block will jump back into the cockpits of their Formula 2 and F1 Academy cars to debut at the Lusail International Circuit.

It's been a little while since the European season came to a close, so here's a catch up of what's happened and what to expect from our junior duo this weekend.

Luke probably didn't expect his final weeks of 2024 to be so busy at the start of the year when he entered his sophomore season in Formula 3.

He picked up two wins and P3 in the F3 championship standings by the Monza finale, before a last-minute opportunity to race in F2 arose.

Like in F3, Luke impressed on his maiden Formula 2 outing to pick up four points racing for reigning champions ART GP on the the tricky streets of Baku.

The championship has had an extended break since that mid-September weekend, and Luke now has a doubleheader event in the Middle East to close out his season, plus time in the FW46.

It's not the first time Luke has raced in the region, however, after cameo appearances in Formula Regional Middle East in 2023 and F4 UAE in 2022.

He reached the podium at the Dubai Autodrome, and picked up points at Kuwait Motor Town — we can't wait to see what Luke does in Qatar for F2's first trip to the country.

Lia's previous F1 Academy weekend wasn't quite as long ago as Luke's last time racing, with the championship supporting F1 at the Singapore Grand Prix.

That round proved positive for Lia, too, with two personal best finishes of P4 in both races as the American racer continues developing her single-seater skills.

Lia also qualified in P4 to show that her speed around the Singapore streets was consistent across all days, and she'll head to Qatar full of confidence.

Like F2, F1 Academy is making its first visit to Lusail, so there's no telling what the racing will be like around the 16-turn circuit.

Yet Lia isn't a stranger to the Lusail International Circuit after the series visited Qatar for three days of in-season testing earlier this month.

Those laps will prove vital for all 16 drivers taking to the track starting with Friday's two Practice sessions.

Yet Lia also has the advantage of enjoying some recent racing laps after tackling Italian F4's season finale last month at Monza, where she kept her wheel-to-wheel skills sharp for the upcoming doubleheader.