Browning: ‘Points on F2 debut weekend will help learning curve’

Luke Browning ended his maiden Formula 2 race weekend on a high note with seventh place in the Baku Feature Race, a result that he says has filled him with confidence.
The Williams Development Driver talent says his weekend was tough with Baku representing one of the sternest tests of the season. But, at the wheel of the #2 ART Grand Prix car, Browning says he was pleased with his efforts.
Reflecting on his performance, the Briton says it almost went wrong at the very start, as he was fortunate to miss the stationary Kush Maini off the line.
“Actually, at the initial start, I missed Kush by nothing,” he explained. “I thought I was going to be the one into the back of him, but luckily, I just missed him.
“After the Red Flag, we started off and had great pace at the start, which was nice. We had a good few battles against some experienced F2 drivers, and I was just picking it up as I was going along.
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“Obviously, I’ve never driven an F2 car before this so being thrown in for my first time driving the car in Baku, just three laps in Practice before jumping into Qualifying, it was tough.
“But I think by the end of the race, we showed good pace. We had the fastest lap in Race 1 for a while and then we went into Race 2, got our first points for P7 and the highest-placed rookie coming in.”
Browning believes that he could have had a cleaner getaway if there had been a standing restart, but once he was up to speed, the pace in the car was promising in his first Feature Race appearance in F2.
The ART driver added that he was very grateful to have received the opportunity to get some time in the car in 2024 after finishing up his F3 campaign at Monza.
“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.
“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.”
Browning already has an eye on what’s to come, as Formula 2 has a break before going to Lusail for the first time in Championship history.
While the walls will be further away, Browning says he expects a different type of challenge but believes he will have an easier time learning the F2 car in Qatar compared to his first weekend outing in Azerbaijan.
“I’ll be much better prepared for Qatar than I was for here. I think it was a steep learning curve, jumping straight in, but I think that’ll soften the curve by the time we get to Qatar, especially with the nature of that circuit. It’s very high-speed and daunting, but we’re not centimetres away from the walls, and there’s a bit more room for error.”