Name: Academy All Access: Episode 1
Uploaded: 2024-10-08T13:45:48.571Z
Description: Go behind the scenes at the Williams Racing Driver Academy training camp as trainer Patrick Harding puts our drivers through their paces

Go behind the scenes at the Williams Racing Driver Academy training camp as trainer Patrick Harding puts our drivers through their paces during a host of rigorous exercises and activities. Featuring, Franco Colapinto, Lia Block, Luke Browning and Alessandro Giusti.

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Franco Colapinto

Luke is one of the rising stars of British motorsport having already seen success on the track in his junior career. The British driver took his first steps into motorsport at an early age in karting, before graduating into cars in 2016 with an entry into the Junior Saloon Car Championship where he claimed one win and three podium finishes.

In 2017, Luke made the move to the Ginetta Junior Championship. In his first season he secured his first rookie win and also scored his maiden pole position at Silverstone. Returning to the series for a second season in 2018 saw Luke claim eight wins and a grand total of 18 podium finishes leading to an impressive third place finish in the Championship.

Following his impressive seasons in the Ginetta Junior Championship, Luke moved up to single-seaters in 2019 as he switched to British F4. He finished 6th in the driver standings for his first season with two wins and nine podiums. Luke was crowned British F4 Champion in his second season after delivering consistent competitive performances that resulted in seven wins, 16 podiums and only finishing outside of the top six twice all year.

Luke then turned his attention to the European racing scene in 2021 by competing in the ADAC F4 series.

Luke had a successful 2022 season claiming the GB3 Championship with Hitech GP with five race victories and eight further podiums. The British racer also won one of the most prestigious accolades in motorsport, collecting the 2022 Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. In doing so, Luke joined an impressive list of previous victors including 2021 winner and fellow Williams Racing Academy driver, Zak O’Sullivan, along with our Brand Ambassador and 2009 Formula 1 World Champion, Jenson Button.

Luke was announced as a Williams Racing Academy Driver at the end of April 2023. As part of his role, he works closely with Williams Racing to help develop his talents through a personalised simulator program at the factory in Grove and opportunities to embed with the team trackside during Grands Prix.

In 2023, Luke competed for Hitech Pulse-Eight in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, finishing 15th overall including a second-place finish in the Barcelona Sprint Race. Following the close of the season, Luke raced in the famous Macau Grand Prix, claiming pole, fastest lap, and victory in Sunday’s main race.

Continuing with the Hitech Pulse-Eight team for the FIA Formula 3 2024 Championship, Luke had a very successful season and was in contention for the championship until the final race in Monza. He achieved two wins in Bahrain and Austria, as well as a further podium in Monaco. He also secured two pole positions and two fastest laps.

Following the conclusion of the Formula 3 championship, Luke made the jump to Formula 2 for the remaining races of the 2024 season, joining ART Grand Prix from Baku onwards. Luke will continue to be supported by the Williams Racing Drivers Academy as he climbs the motorsport ladder.

More from Luke Browning

Luke Browning

Alessandro’s motorsport career has already demonstrated his skill as a driver, showing impressive results through karting and single-seaters. The 17-year-old from Bièvres, France, has risen through the ranks of national and international karting, graduating to cars for the 2021 French Formula 4 Championship. 

In his rookie season, Alessandro won the French F4 Junior title and came sixth overall in the championship. Throughout the season, he achieved two race wins and a pole position.

Building on this experience in the following year, he went on to secure two wins and six consecutive poles in the final three rounds of the 2022 season, becoming overall series champion. As he progressed, he became a master of qualifying in the final three rounds, scoring six out of a possible six pole positions.

2023 saw Alessandro progress into the Formula Regional European Championship with G4 Racing where he stood on the podium four times, three of which were race wins. In January 2024, it was announced that he would be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy where he will have access to the full spectrum of academy support.

In 2024, Alessandro will race for a second season in the Formula Regional European Championship with ART Grand Prix.

More from Alessandro Giusti

Alessandro Giusti

Lia has grown up in the motorsport world and spent many of her childhood years in the paddock. She began racing karts at 11 years old and entered her first off-road racing series in the same year.

Lia then started drifting cars at 13 years old and assumed drag-racing duties in the famous 1,400HP Mustang ‘Hoonicorn’ the year after.
She continued to build her skills in off-road racing and karting, becoming a front-runner in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series’ lower classes by 2021 and taking multiple karting wins.

She later took part in the final round of the 2021 American Rally Association Championship in the Oregon Trail Rally as a 15-year-old, for the Hoonigan Racing Division, marking her first national-level rally.

Lia undertook more regular rallying in 2022 as part of the ARA championship, a season which included her best finish at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally where she placed 9th overall and 3rd in the O2WD class.

This proved an even more successful event for her in the 2023 season, achieving a 6th place finish overall and a victory in the O2WD class.

With two rallies to go, Lia secured the 2023 ARA O2WD championship to become the youngest ARA champion in history.

2023 has been a busy year for Lia, competing in Extreme E as part of Carl Cox Motorsport for the second half of the season alongside Timo Scheider. She has also begun her first season in Nitrocross NEXT, the junior category of the championship previously known as Nitro Rallycross.

In November 2023, it was announced that Lia will compete in the 2024 F1 Academy season with ART Grand Prix, as well as coming onboard as a Williams Racing Academy Driver.

Later in the month, Lia competed in the Baja 1000 alongside her mother Lucy Block and the Block House Racing Team. Lia and the team raced to victory following a grueling 34 hours of rally racing in Mexico.

More from Lia Block

Lia Block

Go behind the scenes at the Williams Racing Driver Academy training camp as trainer Patrick Harding puts our drivers through their paces

Academy All Access: Episode 1

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Academy All Access: Episode 1