Williams confirm Albon and Sainz will give up seats at upcoming F1 races
Photo: Race Pictures
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
Williams have announced that Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz will both give up their cars during the upcoming Mexican and Brazilian Grand Prix weekends. Reserve driver Luke Browning will replace Albon in the opening practice session in Mexico before taking over Sainz's FW48 in Brazil, completing the team's mandatory rookie practice requirements for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
The British driver will return to the Williams cockpit for the first time since the team introduced its lightweight chassis upgrade in Baku.
The upcoming sessions will give Browning an opportunity to familiarise himself with the updated package, with the information gathered on track also contributing to Williams' simulator development programme.
Browning will have completed all four of the team's mandatory rookie FP1 appearances by the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. Alongside his role as Williams reserve driver, he currently competes for Team Kondo Racing in Japan's Super Formula championship, while continuing to support the Grove-based outfit through simulator work, data analysis and race weekend duties.
Luke Browning - Photo: RacePictures
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Browning and Williams react to upcoming FP1 appearances
Browning expressed his appreciation for the team's decision to entrust him with all four rookie sessions, emphasising the importance of gaining further experience with the FW48 and understanding its latest developments.
"I'm happy to be back in the FW48 and grateful to be trusted by Atlassian Williams F1 Team with all four of the team's rookie FP1 sessions this year. It's a great opportunity to get more laps in the car, while building my understanding of the new package and bringing useful data and feedback back to Grove. Each session teaches you something new, and I will take every bit of learning I can from this to help keep pushing my development and the team forward."
Williams sporting director Sven Smeets explained that Browning's performances both on track and in the simulator played an important role in the decision, while also highlighting the technical benefits of having the same driver participate in every rookie session.
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"Luke continues to prove himself as a valuable part of the team, both through his simulator work and his performances on track. Giving him the chance to get behind the wheel of the FW48 across two race weekends is an important step in his development and a natural progression.
"It's valuable for us to have consistency in the driver across all four of our rookie test sessions, as it allows us to improve the correlation between the data we gather on track and our simulator work.
"We have a talented group of young drivers in the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy, and we're pleased to continue providing opportunities like this to support their progression and development."
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