Few drivers make it to Formula 1, but their odds of doing so skyrocket by being affiliated with an F1 team’s junior driver programme. This series explores the performances of driver academy members in 2023. Today’s spotlight: the Williams Driver Academy.

By Finjo Muschlien

Williams juniors have had a relatively high F1 placement rate over the years, with Lance Stroll in 2017, Nicholas Latifi in 2020 and Logan Sargeant in 2023 all stepping up to race seats with the team. The programme has welcomed four new members over the past year as well as new leadership in James Vowles, and several of its members achieved notable successes in 2023 as they look to emulate the likes of Sargeant in graduating to F1.

Check out the e-book below to read all seven of the 2023 F1 driver academy reviews!

Franco Colapinto (F3, P4; F2, P25)

Argentina’s Colapinto, remembered for unexpectedly taking pole position on his and Van Amersfoort Racing’s F3 debut in Bahrain in 2022, was signed by the Williams Driver Academy just before the start of the 2023 season. In his second full season of F3, Colapinto, driving for MP Motorsport, consistently finished inside the top 10 and ended fourth in the championship. The highlights of his season were two sprint race victories at Silverstone and Monza, the latter of which he achieved just weeks after breaking his collarbone.

He was set to take part in the F3 World Cup in Macau in November but withdrew a week before the event. However, having recovered from his injury, he got to taste F2 machinery for the first time the week after Macau in Abu Dhabi, where he replaced Jehan Daruvala at MP Motorsport for the final round of the season. He finished 19th in the sprint race, then had to retire from the feature race because of a sensor issue.

Colapinto also got his first experience in F1 machinery when he took part in the F1 post-season test, in which he completed 65 laps in this year’s Williams FW45. 

 In 2024, Colapinto will race in F2 with MP Motorsport.

Zak O’Sullivan (F3, P2)

The 2021 GB3 champion went into his second full season of FIA F3 this year, making the switch from Carlin to Prema, this year’s championship-winning team. It was a rollercoaster year for O’Sullivan, who finished outside of the points as often as he finished inside of them.

He took a series-high four wins – two in sprints and two in feature races – plus a podium in the final race at Monza. This ensured he finished his season on a high and lifted him to second in the drivers‘ championship behind newly announced McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto.

O’Sullivan also got his first taste of F1 driving this year when he took part in free practice 1 for Williams at Abu Dhabi, becoming the first active F3 driver to take part in an FP1 session and the first from the third tier to do so since Charles Leclerc in 2016.

In October, it was announced that O’Sullivan would step up to F2 with ART Grand Prix next year. 

Luke Browning (F3, P15; FRMEC, P26)

Williams seems to like signing GB3 champions, as Browning, the 2022 GB3 title winner, joined the Grove team’s academy earlier this year.

After completing two rounds in Formula Regional Middle East over the winter, Browning had a solid debut F3 season with Hitech GP, albeit one that was by his own admission disappointing. He consistently finished in the points in the first half of the season and made one appearance on the podium in the Barcelona sprint race en route to 15th overall. Browning also took part in the F3 World Cup in November and highlighted his year of improvement by becoming the 70th Macau Grand Prix winner.

Away from junior single-seaters, he took part in the Formula E rookie test with McLaren in Berlin. On top of that, he also got his first taste of F1 when he tested Aston Martin’s AMR21 in Silverstone as a reward for winning the BRDC Young Driver of the Year award in 2022.

In 2024, Browning will take on his second year in F3, staying with Hitech. 

Ollie Gray (F3, P28)

The 2022 British F4 runner-up stayed with his team Rodin Carlin when he stepped up to FIA F3 this year. Gray struggled and couldn’t live up to expectations, finishing 28th in the overall standings.

Gray’s best result was 14th, secured in Melbourne, Spielberg and Budapest, but didn’t score any points. 

Following an underwhelming season, Gray will take on a new challenge in the LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series with Inter Europol. It is thought that he will no longer be a part of the Williams programme for 2024.

Jamie Chadwick (Indy NXT, P12) 

Chadwick was the only woman in the Williams Driver Academy until November 2023, when Lia Block joined the academy. However, she retains the status of being the member who has spent the longest time in the programme.

The 25-year-old previously celebrated lots of successes with Williams backing, taking home the W Series title three times in a row. After the series dissolved following the 2022 season, Chadwick went overseas to the United States to race in Indy NXT in 2023, beginning the next chapter in her career.

Partnering up with Andretti Autosport, Chadwick secured a best result of sixth at Portland International Raceway. She finished 12th in the overall standings and as the fourth-best rookie.

For 2024, Chadwick is expected to remain with the Williams Driver Academy as she takes on a second season of Indy NXT with the team, now renamed Andretti Global.

Lia Block (Extreme E, P14; Nitrocross NEXT, P5*)

Seventeen-year-old Lia Block, daughter of the late rally legend Ken Block, is the newest addition to the Williams Driver Academy and its second female member. The Extreme E racer will join ART Grand Prix for her first season in single-seaters in F1 Academy for 2024.

Block raced in several rally championships like Extreme E before, finishing fourth overall in the American Rally Association national championship in 2023. Her previous career path in rallying is unusual for a driver making such a step, but likewise few drivers have come to junior single-seaters from professional series such as Extreme E.

Oleksandr Bondarev (FIA Karting European Championship, P1; various other results)

Fourteen-year-old Bondarev raced in several karting championships across the world in 2023, highlighted by winning the CIK-FIA Karting European Championship. In doing so, he added his name to a list of champions that also contains the likes of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon.

As a result of his solid performances and successes, he was signed by the Williams Driver Academy in September 2023 and is expected to move up to F4 with Prema next year. However, he will not be allowed to race until 27 April, when he turns 15. 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency