After a winter where all 20 Formula 1 drivers retained their seats on the grid, 2025 could be the year of the rookie.
There are plenty of drivers out of contract at the end of 2024 and several who don’t look like they’re doing enough to earn an extension.
Speaking on the Track Limits Podcast, Williams team principal James Vowles has been raving about one young driver who’s working his way up the junior series towards F1.
There are some obvious candidates for potential rookies for next season.
After his fantastic cameo in Saudi Arabia for Ferrari, Oliver Bearman is being lined up by Haas for a seat next year.
Another driver with previous F1 experience is Liam Lawson and it looks as though Red Bull will have to find space within their two seats for the Kiwi.
Then there’s the youngest driver in contention – Andrea Kimi Antonelli – who Mercedes want in 2025 if he’s ready after a single F2 campaign.
Vowles believes Williams have some exciting young drivers in their academy as well, including 22-year-old Luke Browning.
The Brit is one of the quickest drivers in Formula 3 this season and will know there’s a potential space in Vowles’s F1 team for 2025 that he can compete for.
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Williams team principal James Vowles raves about Luke Browning
Luke Browning has had a very strong junior racing career even if he’s not progressed up the ranks as quickly as other young drivers.
He spent two seasons in the Ginetta Junior Championship before stepping up to Formula 4 in 2019.
Browning moved to Fortec in 2020 and won the F4 title, and spent another two years at that level alongside winning the GB3 Championship.
He won the Aston Martin Autosport BRC Award at the end of 2022 before making the step up to Formula 3 last year where he finished 15.
However, the highlight of that campaign was winning the Macau Grand Prix, ahead of the likes of F2 stars Dennis Hauger, Pepe Marti and Isack Hadjar.
Williams boss James Vowles might be keeping a close eye on Browning as he currently leads the Formula 3 Championship.
A place in F2 alongside fellow academy stars Franco Colapinto and the highly-rated Zak O’Sullivan might await him, or an even more prestigious promotion…
Luke Browning ready to take next step on the road to Formula 1
Talking about the 22-year-old, Vowles said: “Luke Browning in F3, he’s got a sparkle in his eye and he’s got something really special.
“But there’s other moments where and I’ve already said it to him and I’ll say it publicly, you don’t really overtake around the outside of Becketts and he tried to.
“That’s not a good move!”
Vowles has already shown this season that he’s keeping an eye on Browning and given Logan Sargeant’s current struggles, an unlikely opportunity might be about to present itself.
The American driver has only scored one point in his F1 career and is struggling to repay the faith shown in him by the team.
READ MORE: Williams driver Logan Sargeant’s life outside F1 from height to Donald Trump ties
It looks like at this stage that Sargeant won’t be in Formula 1 in 2025 and Vowles may look to promote from within.
Two of the most recent drivers hired by Williams – Nicholas Latifi and Sargeant – were both part of the junior program.
That means the likes of O’Sullivan, Colapinto and Browning will be trying to catch Vowles’s eye for an unlikely call-up to the Formula 1 grid.
Browning has driven an F1 car before as part of winning the Autosport award in 2022 when Aston Martin handed him a test.
The post ‘Sparkle in his eye’: James Vowles now says Williams have a 22-year-old youngster who’s ‘really special’ appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
