Hitech Pulse-Eight has announced its final driver for the 2023 Formula 3 Championship with reigning GB3 Champion Luke Browning stepping in.
Luke Browning has been announced as Hitech Pulse-Eight’s third driver for the Formula 3 season starting on Friday. The 21-year-old Brit will be making his debut after winning the GB3 Championship in October. Browning is the 30th and final driver to be announced. Hitech has opted for an all-rookie lineup, the second team to do after Jenzer Motorsport.
Browning’s path to F3
Browning made his single-seater debut in 2016 when he competed in the Junior Saloon Car Championship. He was awarded the ‘Henry Surtees Teen Racer of the Year’ following his successful campaign after finishing ninth in the standings with one win.
In 2018, he finished third in his second season of the Ginetta Junior Championship after taking eight wins and ten more podiums. In 2019, Browning moved to the Formula 4 British Championship and finished sixth in the standings. He retained his seat in the series for 2020 but switched to Fortec Motorsport – winning the championship by four points over Zak O’Sullivan.
After claiming third in both the 2021 ADAC and 2021 Drexler Automotive Formula 4 Championships, Browning participated in three races for Fortec in the GB3 Championship. For 2022, he raced full-time in GB3 with Hitech and would win the season by 46.5 points.
Following his dominating title win, Browning won the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award in December and was granted £200,000 and an F1 Aston Martin test. The previous winner of the award was his rival O’Sullivan.
In 2023, Browning participated in six races of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship with Hitech as well as the Formula 3 pre-season test alongside his teammates Sebastian Montoya and Gabriele Mini in Bahrain.
🚨 BREAKING: Reigning GB3 Champion Luke Browning steps up to @FIAFormula3 with Hitech Pulse-Eight.
Browning secured championship victory with the team in GB3 last year, taking 5 wins. He joins Minì and Montoya, as the F3 season is set to commence this weekend in Bahrain. 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/ZI6COvaHpG
— Hitech Grand Prix (@HitechGP) March 1, 2023
Following the announcement, Browning stated:
“I am very thankful to the people who continuously believe in me and have made this possible. I am under no illusions how competitive FIA F3 is and stepping into the car for the first time in February will be a steep learning curve before we head to Bahrain. I feel confident with everyone at Hitech that I can hit the ground running!”
Oliver Oakes (Team Principal of Hitech) added:
“We are delighted to welcome Luke to our team in FIA Formula 3. We had a fantastic year with him in GB3, securing the driver’s title with five wins, and we are confident his experience will be of great value to the team.”
2023 F3 Lineup
Browning is a strong driver as evidenced by his past performances and his pre-season testing results. We only have to wait a couple of days to see how he copes with the step up.
- ART Grand Prix: Gregoire Saucy & Nikola Tsolov & Kaylen Frederick
- Campos Racing: Christian Mansell & Hugh Barter & Pepe Marti
- Carlin Racing: Hunter Yeany & Ollie Gray & Ido Cohen
- Hitech Grand Prix: Gabriele Mini & Sebastian Montoya & Luke Browning
- Jenzer Motorsport: Alex Garcia & Nikita Bedrin & Taylor Barnard
- MP Motorsport: Mari Boya & Jonny Edgar & Franco Colapinto
- PHM Racing: Sophia Floersch, Roberto Faria, & Piotr Wisnicki
- PREMA Powertrain: Paul Aron, Dino Beganovic & Zak O’Sullivan
- Trident Racing: Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Goethe & Leonardo Fornaroli
- Vans Amersfoort Racing: Tommy Smith & Rafael Villagomez & Caio Collet
