Academy Report: Podiums, points and progress across four championships
Luke Browning starred in Super Formula, while Kean Nakamura-Berta secured another FREC podium during a busy weekend for the Academy
Published
25 MAY 2026
Est. reading time
3 min
Members of the Atlassian Williams F1 Team Driver Academy were in action across four different championships over the weekend, with races taking place in Japan, the Netherlands, Italy and Canada.
Luke Browning delivered another strong Super Formula drive at Suzuka, Kean Nakamura-Berta bounced back to secure a podium in Formula Regional European Championship action, while Oleksandr Bondarev and Jade Jacquet continued their campaigns in Italian F4 and F1 Academy respectively.
Luke Browning
Super Formula
Luke Browning continued his encouraging rookie Super Formula campaign with another impressive points finish during Rounds 4 and 5 at Suzuka.
After ending Friday practice inside the top 10 in FP2, Luke qualified P16 for Saturday’s opening race before producing one of the standout drives of the weekend in mixed conditions.
With rain affecting the closing stages, strategy became a decisive factor as the field split between wet tyres and slicks for the final laps. Luke was among the drivers on slicks, a gamble that proved crucial as conditions rapidly improved late on.
The Atlassian Williams F1 Team Reserve Driver climbed through the order to secure P4 at the chequered flag – another strong result following his recovery drive to P4 earlier in the season at Motegi.
Sunday proved more difficult, with Luke qualifying P22 before recovering positions during the race to finish P14.
The weekend leaves Luke P8 in the championship standings on 16 points heading into the next round of the season.
Kean Nakamura-Berta
Formula Regional European Championship
Kean Nakamura-Berta secured another podium finish in Formula Regional European Championship action during a dramatic weekend at Zandvoort.
The Japanese-Slovak driver showed strong pace throughout practice before a parc fermé infringement led to a disqualification from Qualifying 1, leaving him on the back foot for Race 1 where he recovered to P20.
Kean responded impressively on Sunday, storming to pole position in Qualifying 2 to place himself at the front of the grid for Race 2.
A strong launch allowed him to retain the lead at the start before an intense battle developed at the front following an early red flag and Safety Car interruption. Although eventually edged out for victory late in the race, Kean remained firmly in contention throughout and crossed the line in P2 after setting the fastest lap of the race.
The result continues an encouraging start to his 2026 FREC campaign following his victory on debut earlier in the season and leaves him P4 in the standings on 55 points.
Oleksandr Bondarev
Italian F4 Championship
Oleksandr Bondarev added more points to his Italian F4 tally during the second round of the championship at Vallelunga.
The Ukrainian secured a best finish of P9 across the weekend, adding another top-10 result to his growing rookie campaign after his podium finish during the opening round at Misano.
Sasha also recorded a P11 finish during Race 1 before his weekend concluded with a retirement in Race 4.
Following two rounds, Oleksandr sits P9 in the championship standings on 72 points.
Jade Jacquet
F1 Academy
Jade Jacquet returned to F1 Academy action in Montreal as the championship introduced its new three-race weekend format.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve hosted the first of two ‘Opening Race’ formats in 2026, with grids decided by drivers’ second-fastest qualifying laps as part of an expanded race programme.
Jade completed all three races across the weekend, recording finishes of P12, P12 and P13 after qualifying P13 and P15 for the two grid-setting sessions.
The weekend also marked valuable experience on one of the fastest and most unforgiving circuits on their calendar as Jade continues her rookie F1 Academy season.
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