James Vowles hails 22-year-old Williams junior in Bahrain after disappointing F1 race

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Williams team principal James Vowles might not have had much to celebrate during the Formula 1 race in Bahrain, but F3 star Luke Browning had a much better weekend.

Alex Albon had an unremarkable race but didn’t trouble the points scorers, while Logan Sargeant finished the first race of a make-or-break season for him in last place.

Taking to social media ahead of Saturday’s main event, Vowles was quick to praise the 22-year-old driver.

Vowles praises Browning after F3 win

Williams are playing catch up this season after being the last season to shake down their car and having a few issues during pre-season testing.

Alex Albon has been making positive noises about the 2024 car but admitted that there are still things the team need to iron out.

The London-born Thai driver at least reached the second session of qualifying on Friday, but neither he nor Sargeant ever looked like finishing in the top ten.

The American dropped to the back of the grid at the start of the race but benefitted from Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg’s collision.

He fell to last place after a problem that caused him to need a new steering wheel and was the only driver to be lapped twice.

However, further down in the Williams academy James Vowles had something to get excited about in Bahrain and Luke Browning secured the team’s first silverware.

The 22-year-old is one of the favourites to secure the F3 crown and after a tough Sprint Race, he ran away with the Feature Race, leading from start to finish.

Browning looking to make next step up in Williams academy

Posting on Instagram, Vowles said: “Once we arrived at track, we were straight into watching the F3 race. Congratulations to @lukebrowningracing on a perfect race rewarded with his first win!”

Browning is one of three drivers currently racing in the Formula pyramid under the Williams umbrella.

The 22-year-old is competing alone in F3, but Franco Colapinto and Zak O’Sullivan both made the step up to Formula 2 this year.

O’Sullivan had a tougher time than Browning in Bahrain with ART struggling to get his strategy right, something Vowles will want the French outfit to fix going forward.

He still scored points in both races, while Colapinto finished the Feature Race in sixth.

The trio will all be keeping a close eye on Sargeant’s progression this year.

If the American fails to make the necessary steps up in 2024, then all three drivers might fancy their chances of earning a seat on the F1 grid.