Academy Preview: Will on the brink of title in Kristianstad
A trio of Academy Drivers are in action as the FIA Karting European Championship reaches its conclusion
Published
29 JUL 2026
Est. reading time
2 min
The FIA Karting European Championship heads to the Asum Ring in Kristianstad for its final round this weekend, and for the Atlassian Williams F1 Team Driver Academy, there’s a title on the line.
Will Green arrives on the brink of a Junior title that would place him in the company of some distinguished academy names, while Dean Hoogendoorn chases a strong finish in OK and Lucas Palacio looks to close the season on a positive note.
Will Green
FIA Karting European Championship | Final Round, Kristianstad, Junior Class
Will has been no stranger to the podium in 2026...
Will needs no introduction to Kristianstad. He was in action at the Asum Ring just last weekend for the final round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, topping free practice and finishing P5 in the Final.
He leads the Junior championship by 72 points with 101 available this weekend, and if he secures it, he will become the latest in a line of Williams talent members to have won this prize.
Will would follow in the footsteps of Alex Albon in 2010, Oleksandr Bondarev in 2023, and Dean Hoogendoorn last year.
Dean Hoogendoorn
FIA Karting European Championship | Final Round, Kristianstad, OK Class
Having claimed the Junior title at this very event twelve months ago, Dean returns to Kristianstad this year in the senior OK class, a step up in competition that he has been adapting to throughout the season. He arrives P4 in the OK championship, 81 points off the lead, meaning the title itself is a mathematical long shot, but Dean has shown throughout 2026 that he has the pace to run at the front of this class.
Last weekend's Champions of the Future round at the same venue was a case in point, he crossed the line in P2 on the road in the Final before time penalties intervened. A clean, penalty-free weekend at a circuit he now knows well would be the ideal way to close out his first season in OK.
Lucas Palacio
FIA Karting European Championship | Final Round, Kristianstad, Junior Class
Lucas in Kristianstad | @forzaracinguk on IG
Lucas rounds out the academy's Kristianstad contingent in the Junior class alongside Will, and like Dean, he comes into the weekend having raced at the Asum Ring just days ago. After a tough Champions of the Future round, where a track position of P10 was dropped to P15 by a time penalty in the final, he will be keen to produce a cleaner performance this time around.
Currently P16 in the championship on 47 points and 35 shy of the top ten, the title picture is out of reach, but the weekend represents a valuable opportunity to take confidence into the next phase of his development.
Shop our Summer Sale:
Sale
2026 Mens Team Tech Tee
···
Sale
2026 Mens Team Tech Polo
···
Sale
2026 Womens Team Tech Tee
···
Sale
2026 Womens Team Tech Polo
···
Sale
2026 Mens Team Quarter Zip
···
Sale
2026 Mens Team Winter Coat
···
Sale
2026 Mens Team Bomber
···
Sale
2026 Womens Team Bomber
···
Sale
2026 Team Cap 9FORTY
···
Sale
Albon
2026 Race Special Miami Albon Cap
···
Earn WClub points
Latest
Trending
© 2026 The Williams Group, under licence to Williams IP Holdings LLC
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Services LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with company registration number OC456938 and whose registered address is at Station Road, Grove, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 0DQ.
Powered By