Browning sets sight on title fight after going fastest on second day of Sakhir pre-season test

12 February 2024

Luke Browning was back into the “swing of things” with Hitech Pulse-Eight after the British driver topped the timesheets on the second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Browning had shown strong pace throughout the two days as he constantly found himself competing at the top of the leaderboard. He placed fifth in the morning segment but returned late in the afternoon’s proceedings to set a time of 1:46.819.

That eclipsed MP Motorsport rookie Alex Dunne’s earlier pace-setting effort by just 0.066s, and speaking after jumping out the cockpit, Browning was more than impressed with the 64 laps he completed in the day.

“It's feeling good,” said Browning. “It’s obviously been productive today and to come out on top on day two is always positive. But obviously we are all working hard. I am sure everyone is working on test items, but we have got to make sure we are there for qualifying in a couple of weeks' time.”

After running on the opening day in Bahrain was limited due to rain, the Briton was pleased to get back into a rhythm with Hitech, as he revealed exactly what he and the team were working on throughout the test.

Browning eclipsed Dunne's fastest lap late in the afternoon session

“Obviously yesterday was very much rained off,” he explained. “I think we got a little bit of running in the afternoon but not as much as we would have liked. We worked on our quali baselines, and just getting back into the rhythm of things.

“It's been a little while now since we've been back at it, so it's been nice. It's been nice to get back with the team, see everyone, have some time off to go be at Williams and prepare for this.”

Coming of a rookie campaign in which he finished 18th in the Championship, Browning explained what he, Williams, and his support group had worked on over the winter in an effort to get him fighting for top honours this season.

“The amount that I've learned from last year to this year, it's been massive,” admitted the 22-year-old. “I’ve been picked up not only by Williams but by the structure and the support team I've got around me, it's really good and that is thanks to them.

Browning was happy with his performance on Day 2 in Bahrain

“We are in the right place; I think we've got the right team around us and hopefully that will show why we are hopefully going to be title contenders this year.”

Before the season gets underway, Browning and Hitech have one more day of pre-season testing to prepare for the year ahead. He hopes to use it to find even more performance with the plan to test different things on the car.

When asked if he and the team will be able to get a clear idea of where they stand in the Championship order once testing is complete, Browning replied: “Well, you can never really tell. To be honest testing is testing. Until you get to qualifying you never really know.

“It's very hard to see where you are, as it is with any F3 testing but I am sure when it comes to that Friday qualifying it will be close.”