Academy Report: Luke, Dean and Jade all in action
From recovery drives to season-opening wins, here's what our Academy were up to over the weekend
Published
07 APR 2026
Est. reading time
3 min
While there was no Formula 1 action over the weekend, there was still plenty to keep Atlassian Williams F1 Team fans entertained as other categories kicked off their campaigns.
For several members of the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy, it was a busy few days packed with action. Here’s how they got on…
Luke Browning
Super Formula
Luke Browning delivered a stunning recovery drive to P4 in Race 2 at Motegi, capping a dramatic first Super Formula weekend for the Atlassian Williams Racing Reserve Driver.
After showing early promise in practice as the top rookie, a difficult Saturday saw a qualifying setback and a disrupted, rain-hit race – compounded by a radio issue – leave Luke classified P20 following contact in extremely low-visibility conditions.
Sunday told a different story. Starting P21, Luke and Kondo Racing committed to a bold alternative strategy, extending his opening stint while others boxed early. With strong pace and impressive tyre management, he climbed steadily through the order and ran in the lead phase.
Forced to make his mandatory stop late in the race, Luke rejoined in P4, completing a significant overcut, and held position to secure his first Super Formula points – one of the standout drives of the weekend.
The result sees him leave Motegi P5 in the standings after Round 1.
Jade Jacquet
French F4 Championship
Jade Jacquet took part in the opening round of the French F4 campaign, joining the grid at Nogaro as a guest driver.
Competing in a 30-car field, Jade qualified P18 for Races 1 and 2, and P17 for Race 3 – valuable experience on a busy track compared to the smaller grids of F1 Academy.
She converted that into strong progress in the opening race, climbing through the order to secure P12 at the flag.
Race 2 proved more unfortunate, with Jade hit under Safety Car conditions just two laps in while running P16, ending her race prematurely.
In Race 3, she was again making progress from P17 and running P15 in the early stages before dipping a wheel onto the grass, sending her into the gravel and bringing her weekend to an early close.
Dean Hoogendoorn
Champions of the Future OK Class
Dean Hoogendoorn made a perfect start to his Champions of the Future campaign, taking victory in the OK class at La Conca.
The 13-year-old Dutch karter showed front-running pace throughout, going P3 in his Qualifying Practice Group before scoring 214 points across the heats to secure P3 overall from a 79-driver field. A further 80 points in the Super Heat confirmed his P3 grid slot for the Final.
Dean wasted no time in the 24-lap race, moving into P2 on the opening lap before executing a decisive pass for the lead at the final corner on Lap 2, diving down the inside of Jindrich Pesl.
From there, he controlled the race from the front, maintaining a steady gap and crossing the line with a 0.8s advantage to seal his first win of the season.
“It’s been great all weekend – we’ve been inside the top three throughout, so to finally get the win is a great feeling,” Dean said. “The race was honestly pretty straightforward, but the chassis felt great, the team did an amazing job and everything just came together.”
Round 2 of the Champions of the Future season takes place in Valencia later this month.
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