Name: WATCH: Williams Racing Driver Academy prepares for 2024
Uploaded: 2024-02-24T17:30:00.000Z
Description: Join Patrick Harding as he gets our Driver Academy set for the 2024 season, fuelled by Gulf Oil

Join Patrick Harding as he gets our Driver Academy set for the 2024 season, fuelled by Gulf Oil.

Zak O'Sullivan, Franco Colapinto, Luke Browning, Lia Block and Alessandro Giusti spent two days gathering data to understand exactly where they are before their campaigns begin.

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Zak began karting at the age of nine. Two years later, in 2016, Zak claimed the rookie championship in British Super One and won the British GP Kartmasters Championship, before moving into European karting in 2017. A season in the CIK European OKJ Championship and the WSK European Championship resulted in 10th and 9th places respectively. The British driver demonstrated his progress the following season, bettering his 2017 effort to place 6th overall in the WSK European Championship.

In 2019, Zak made a successful debut in the Ginetta Junior Championship, claiming three wins to become Rookie Champion and placing second overall. The following year, Zak’s maiden season in single seaters saw him finish as vice-champion in the 2020 F4 British Championship. His impressive campaign saw him claim nine wins and 19 podiums, missing out on the title by only four points.

In 2021, Zak entered the GB3 Championship, and an extraordinary debut season saw him crowned Champion, having secured six wins and 13 podium finishes. With 18 top ten finishes to his name, Zak’s notable consistency throughout the season saw him win by an impressive margin of 164 points over his nearest championship rival.

In 2021, Zak was selected as a finalist for the renowned Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award (AMABA), which he was later crowned the winner of for 2021.

In 2022, Zak completed his first rookie season in the FIA F3 Championship with Carlin, impressing with several strong performances, including pole position and a podium in front of home crowds at the British GP. In the same year, Zak was announced as a Williams Racing Academy Driver, joining Williams ahead of the new season.

In 2023, Zak joined PREMA Racing for the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship. He had a stellar year, achieving 4 wins, 1 pole, and 5 podiums. Closing the season as runner-up, Zak secured the most race wins of any driver in the championship.

Zak graduated to FIA Formula 2 for the 2024 season, going on to win two feature races at Monaco and Spa. His season with ART Grand Prix ended prematurely following the Monza race weekend, however he will continue within the Williams Racing Driver Academy, further developing his skills and preparing for the next step in his motorsport career.

More from Zak O'Sullivan

Zak O’Sullivan

Franco Colapinto started karting at the age of nine. He won the Argentinian Championship in 2016 and again in 2018. In 2018 Franco begun his European single seat journey, entering the final round of the FIA Spanish F4 season, taking a win and a second place. Franco was scouted by Fernando Alonso's team FA Racing by Drivex, signing him up for the 2019 season.

In 2019, Franco achieved eleven victories, 13 podiums and 10 pole positions, being crowned the Spanish F4 champion. Following this, Franco started his 2020 season by securing his second single seater title after taking the rookie championship win in the 2020 Castrol Toyota Racing Series, adding another race win, a pole position and eight further podium finishes to his tally.

For the second leg of the 2020 season Franco Colapinto returned to Europe to compete in the Formula Renault Euro cup with MP Motorsport, taking two race wins and nine podiums to finish third in the championship as the highest ranked rookie

In 2021, Franco raced in Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine with MP Motorsport where he achieved two Grand Slams and a further victory and podium finish.

For the 2022 season, Franco moved up to FIA F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing chasing his childhood dream to reach the pinnacle of motor racing, Formula 1. The Argentinian immediately made his mark by taking pole position in his first ever FIA F3 Qualifying and went on to win 2 races and 5 podiums in his rookie year.

In January 2023, Franco joined the Williams Racing Driver Academy Programme and went on to compete in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. He had a successful sophomore season, securing two sprint race wins at Silverstone and Monza, and finished the season taking fourth place in the standings.

In October 2023, it was announced that Franco would be graduating to FIA Formula 2 in 2024 with MP Motorsport. Franco made his F2 debut with the team at the final round of the 2023 season in Abu Dhabi, performing well in preparation for the next stage in his career as part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy.

From the 2024 Italian Grand Prix until the remainder of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, Franco will race with Williams. He becomes the 49th Grand Prix driver for Williams Racing*, is the first Argentine driver in F1 for 23 years and the second Argentine to drive for the British outfit, following his countryman Carlos Reutemann.

2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship, MP Motorsport

2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship, MP Motorsport, 4th overall: 2 wins, 5 podiums

2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship, Van Amersfoort Racing

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Franco Colapinto

Luke is one of the rising stars of British motorsport having already seen success on the track in his junior career. The British driver took his first steps into motorsport at an early age in karting, before graduating into cars in 2016 with an entry into the Junior Saloon Car Championship where he claimed one win and three podium finishes.

In 2017, Luke made the move to the Ginetta Junior Championship. In his first season he secured his first rookie win and also scored his maiden pole position at Silverstone. Returning to the series for a second season in 2018 saw Luke claim eight wins and a grand total of 18 podium finishes leading to an impressive third place finish in the Championship.

Following his impressive seasons in the Ginetta Junior Championship, Luke moved up to single-seaters in 2019 as he switched to British F4. He finished 6th in the driver standings for his first season with two wins and nine podiums. Luke was crowned British F4 Champion in his second season after delivering consistent competitive performances that resulted in seven wins, 16 podiums and only finishing outside of the top six twice all year.

Luke then turned his attention to the European racing scene in 2021 by competing in the ADAC F4 series.

Luke had a successful 2022 season claiming the GB3 Championship with Hitech GP with five race victories and eight further podiums. The British racer also won one of the most prestigious accolades in motorsport, collecting the 2022 Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. In doing so, Luke joined an impressive list of previous victors including 2021 winner and fellow Williams Racing Academy driver, Zak O’Sullivan, along with our Brand Ambassador and 2009 Formula 1 World Champion, Jenson Button.

Luke was announced as a Williams Racing Academy Driver at the end of April 2023. As part of his role, he works closely with Williams Racing to help develop his talents through a personalised simulator program at the factory in Grove and opportunities to embed with the team trackside during Grands Prix.

In 2023, Luke competed for Hitech Pulse-Eight in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, finishing 15th overall including a second-place finish in the Barcelona Sprint Race. Following the close of the season, Luke raced in the famous Macau Grand Prix, claiming pole, fastest lap, and victory in Sunday’s main race.

Continuing with the Hitech Pulse-Eight team for the FIA Formula 3 2024 Championship, Luke had a very successful season and was in contention for the championship until the final race in Monza. He achieved two wins in Bahrain and Austria, as well as a further podium in Monaco. He also secured two pole positions and two fastest laps.

Following the conclusion of the Formula 3 championship, Luke made the jump to Formula 2 for the remaining races of the 2024 season, joining ART Grand Prix from Baku onwards. Luke will continue to be supported by the Williams Racing Drivers Academy as he climbs the motorsport ladder.

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Luke Browning

Lia has grown up in the motorsport world and spent many of her childhood years in the paddock. She began racing karts at 11 years old and entered her first off-road racing series in the same year.

Lia then started drifting cars at 13 years old and assumed drag-racing duties in the famous 1,400HP Mustang ‘Hoonicorn’ the year after.
She continued to build her skills in off-road racing and karting, becoming a front-runner in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series’ lower classes by 2021 and taking multiple karting wins.

She later took part in the final round of the 2021 American Rally Association Championship in the Oregon Trail Rally as a 15-year-old, for the Hoonigan Racing Division, marking her first national-level rally.

Lia undertook more regular rallying in 2022 as part of the ARA championship, a season which included her best finish at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally where she placed 9th overall and 3rd in the O2WD class.

This proved an even more successful event for her in the 2023 season, achieving a 6th place finish overall and a victory in the O2WD class.

With two rallies to go, Lia secured the 2023 ARA O2WD championship to become the youngest ARA champion in history.

2023 has been a busy year for Lia, competing in Extreme E as part of Carl Cox Motorsport for the second half of the season alongside Timo Scheider. She has also begun her first season in Nitrocross NEXT, the junior category of the championship previously known as Nitro Rallycross.

In November 2023, it was announced that Lia will compete in the 2024 F1 Academy season with ART Grand Prix, as well as coming onboard as a Williams Racing Academy Driver.

Later in the month, Lia competed in the Baja 1000 alongside her mother Lucy Block and the Block House Racing Team. Lia and the team raced to victory following a grueling 34 hours of rally racing in Mexico.

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Lia Block

Alessandro’s motorsport career has already demonstrated his skill as a driver, showing impressive results through karting and single-seaters. The 17-year-old from Bièvres, France, has risen through the ranks of national and international karting, graduating to cars for the 2021 French Formula 4 Championship. 

In his rookie season, Alessandro won the French F4 Junior title and came sixth overall in the championship. Throughout the season, he achieved two race wins and a pole position.

Building on this experience in the following year, he went on to secure two wins and six consecutive poles in the final three rounds of the 2022 season, becoming overall series champion. As he progressed, he became a master of qualifying in the final three rounds, scoring six out of a possible six pole positions.

2023 saw Alessandro progress into the Formula Regional European Championship with G4 Racing where he stood on the podium four times, three of which were race wins. In January 2024, it was announced that he would be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy where he will have access to the full spectrum of academy support.

In 2024, Alessandro will race for a second season in the Formula Regional European Championship with ART Grand Prix.

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Alessandro Giusti

Join Patrick Harding as he gets our Driver Academy set for the 2024 season, fuelled by Gulf Oil

WATCH: Academy prepares for 2024

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WATCH: Academy prepares for 2024