Every junior single-seater driver wants to reach the top of the pyramid: Formula 1. Those who are part of driver academies have a much greater chance of doing so. This series explores the performances of driver academy members in 2025. Today, Feeder Series spotlights the Williams Racing Driver Academy.

By Maciej Jackiewicz

After making his Formula 1 debut at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, former Williams Racing Driver Academy member Franco Colapinto left the structures of the British team to compete in F1 with Alpine. For 2025, the Grove-based squad fielded Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. – the first season since 2019 in which Williams did not have a driver coming from their academy in their driver line-up.

Colapinto and former F2 rival Zak O’Sullivan both left the programme in 2024, and two drivers were signed to bring the membership numbers back to nine. Former Alpine junior Victor Martins was brought in at the end of March, while British karter Will Green joined the academy in late 2024.

Williams have not yet announced which drivers will be retained for 2026.

Luke Browning (F2, P4)

After an impressive 2024 F3 campaign in which he finished third, Luke Browning made his F2 debut with ART Grand Prix in place of O’Sullivan for the last three rounds of the season. For the 2025 season, the 2023 F3 World Cup winner joined the F2 grid full-time. This time, he returned to the team with whom he has largely raced since 2022 – Hitech, where his personal manager Oliver Oakes is team principal.

Just as in his 2024 F3 season, Browning was near the top of the championship standings from the beginning. He finished third in the first race in Australia and subsequently achieved eight more podium finishes. After the fifth round of the season in Monaco, the Williams junior led the drivers’ standings.

One of those was his sole victory in F2, scored in the feature race at Monza. With this result, the Briton stood second in the standings. In the three subsequent rounds, however, Browning scored only nine points and dropped to fourth overall, with 162 points to his name.

The 23-year-old competed in three F1 practice sessions this season with Williams as well as the post-season Young Driver Test. He also took part in the post-season Super Formula testing at Suzuka. His plans for 2026 are not yet known.

Victor Martins (F2, P11)

After parting ways with Alpine before the 2025 season, Martins started the season unaffiliated, competing in red and black ART colours for the first round in Melbourne.  But two weeks later on 31 March, it was announced that the Frenchman had joined the Williams academy. 

The 2022 F3 champion scored three podiums across the year, including a first feature race victory since July 2023 in the feature race in Lusail. Unfortunately for him, good results came just as often as incidents did. The Frenchman stalled from third at the start of the feature race at Imola and collided with polesitter Alex Dunne on the opening lap in Monaco. 

One of the most impressive parts of Martins’ season was his qualifying form. The Williams junior qualified in the top two in seven out of 14 rounds. All in all, he finished his third F2 season in 11th with 97 points. Across the year, he largely outperformed his teammate Ritomo Miyata.

After joining Williams, Martins made his F1 practice session debut at the Spanish Grand Prix. More recently, the 24-year-old made his Indy NXT testing debut with HMD Motorsports as he assesses his options for 2026. Outside of single-seaters, he also won the Race of Champions Nations’ Cup alongside Sébastien Loeb. His plans for 2026 are not yet known, but he will not return to F2.

Alessandro Giusti (F3, P10)

The 2022 French F4 champion had just finished sixth in FR Europe when he joined the Williams academy at the beginning of 2024. For that year he remained in the series, this time finishing fourth. This led to a move up to F3 with MP Motorsport for 2025.

His first round in the series at Albert Park did not bring any points, but he scored at the next opportunity with seventh in the sprint race in Bahrain. That result started a nine-race points-scoring streak – showcasing the consistency first seen when he scored in every race but one in his debut French F4 season in 2021. His first F3 podium came at the halfway point of the season, when he finished third in the feature race in Barcelona.

The 19-year-old then bettered that with second place in Austria, but this would be the last time we saw Giusti on the F3 podium. In the last four rounds, he scored just 13 points compared with 54 in the first six rounds. The Frenchman finished the season in 10th overall.

In July, Giusti also made an appearance in the Formula E rookie test in Berlin, driving for Lola Yamaha ABT. He will stay with MP Motorsport for the 2026 F3 season. 

Lia Block (Eurocup-4 SWC, P33; F1 Academy, P9)

Block made her single-seater racing debut in 2024, when she was signed by Williams to compete in F1 Academy. In that year, she also took part in the Formula Winter Series, Spanish F4 and Italian F4 part-time. Williams and ART Grand Prix retained the American driver for F1 Academy for 2025.

Before competing in F1 Academy, Block competed in two rounds of Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship with ART, with her best result being 17th on two occasions. 

In F1 Academy, she began the year with a pair of ninth-place finishes in Shanghai but finished in the points only twice in the next six races.

The second part of her year was much better. In Zandvoort, the 19-year-old scored her first-ever podium in single-seater racing before she bettered that result with a win in race one in Singapore. She finished the season ninth overall, one place lower than in 2024. 

Block also made a one-off rally start in 2025, winning the Kentucky-based Boone Forest Rally in the ARA East classification. In November, Williams announced that Block would part ways with them and leave single-seater racing completely as she opted to return to rallying full-time in 2026.

Oleksandr Bondarev (F4 Middle East, P12; Italian F4, P10; E4, P9; Formula Trophy, P7*)

When he was competing in karting, Bondarev was considered one of the biggest talents in the sport. It therefore came as no surprise that the Ukrainian driver was signed by the Williams academy at the end of 2023. The following year, he stepped up to single-seaters, competing in two rounds of Italian F4 with Prema Racing.

Bondarev stayed with the Italian outfit for 2025 and began the year in F4 Middle East, in which he finished 12th overall. He then returned to Italian F4 for his main campaign. His first four rounds proved difficult, however, and he finished in the points only four times.

In the fifth round at Imola, he won race three, becoming only the second Ukrainian driver to win in an FIA-certified F4 race. He scored one more podium in Italian F4 and finished the season in 10th.

Alongside Italian F4, the 16-year-old also competed in the E4 Championship, in which he won the rookie title and finished ninth overall with 30 points.

He closed out the season by competing in Formula Trophy in December. In the only round he entered – the one supporting the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – he won both races from pole position. Bondarev will get to build on that momentum with another year at Prema Racing in both Italian F4 and E4 for 2026.

* Partial season

Dean Hoogendoorn (Karting, various)

Hoogendoorn was signed by Williams to join their junior team in August of 2024, after taking strong results in OK-Junior karting. After signing with the British team, the Dutch driver continued his rich vein of form, winning a round of the WSK Final Cup in December.

For 2025, the 13-year-old stayed in the OK-Junior category and remained one of the most impressive drivers in the class. In March, he won the overall classification of the WSK Super Master Series, taking victory in two out of five rounds. 

Later in the year, he contested the FIA Karting European Championship and won the overall title, having taken victory in Portimão and achieved two other podiums. He also took part in the Champions of the Future Euro Series, in which he finished fifth overall, five places higher than his 2024 finish of 10th. He also finished third in the FIA World Karting Championship and concluded the year with sixth place in the WSK Final Cup.

The 13-year-old completed his first F4 tests in December. He reportedly tested with AKM Motorsport twice in Barcelona as well as with Campos Racing at Portimão. He is expected to move up to senior karting class for 2026.

Sara Matsui (Karting, various)

The Japanese driver joined Williams in 2024, the year she transitioned from junior to senior karting. That was also her first full year outside of Japan, one she spent racing in competitions under the FIA, WSK and Champions of the Future banners. 

In 2025, Matsui competed solely in senior karting. Her most successful championship was the Champions of the Future Academy Programme, in which she finished ninth overall. During the round at Al Forsan, she scored her only podium of the campaign with a third-place finish in the J1 class final. 

Alongside COTFA, the 15-year-old took part in numerous other championships, including the Champions of the Future Euro Series, the WSK Super Master Series and the FIA Karting European Championship. She scored no points in those series. She was classified 64th in the FIA Karting World Championship.

The Japanese driver also continued to compete in karting in her home country, racing in the OK class.

Matsui’s plans for 2026 are not yet known, but she is expected to stay in karting.

Lucas Palacio (Karting, various)

Lucas Palacio was signed to the Williams programme at the end of 2024 following his impressive results in Mini classes. For 2025, he competed mostly in OK-NJ karts.

This year, the 11-year-old took part in championships on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, he most notably raced in the WSK Super Master Series, which he won, and the WSK Final Cup, in which he finished second. Alongside the WSK championships, he also raced in the Italian Karting Championship’s OKJ-N class, finishing ninth overall.

Back home in the United States, Palacio won the IAME USA Grand National Championship in both the X30 Junior and KA100 Junior classes. Furthermore, he came out on top in one round of the Stars Championship Series.

For 2026, the American driver is expected to stay in the junior classes of karting.

Will Green (Karting, various)

In 2024, Will Green became champion in two separate karting series: the IAME Euro Series in X30 Mini and the British Kart Championships’ IAME Water Swift class. These results impressed Williams, who signed the British driver at the end of that year.

The 12-year-old started the year in the OKJ class of the WSK Super Master Series. There, he scored one podium in the second round at Sarno and ended the season in eighth overall. Later on, the Briton took part in the Champions of the Future Euro Series and finished that championship in 11th with one podium at Portimão. He also finished seventh in the FIA Karting World Championship in his class.

The Williams academy driver also contested the FIA Karting European Championship full-time and the IAME Euro Series and British Kart Championship on part-time bases. He ended the year in the Italian WSK Final Cup, in which he finished third overall after scoring one podium at Garda.

For 2026, the British driver is expected to stay in the junior classes of karting. 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency / Williams Racing