Williams Driver Academy
 | |
| Founded | Williams Young Driver Programme (2016) Williams Driver Academy (2019) |
|---|---|
| Base | Grove, Oxfordshire, England, UK |
| Team principal(s) | James Vowles (Team principal) |
| Current drivers | Indy NXT  Jamie ChadwickFIA Formula 2 Zak O'Sullivan Franco Colapinto FIA Formula 3 Luke BrowningFR European Championship  Alessandro GiustiF1 Academy  Lia BlockKarting  Oleksandr Bondarev Sara Matsui |
The Williams Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Williams to promote talent in different racing series by helping them with funds, with the hope of finding drivers who will race for the team in the future.[1] Notable graduates of the scheme are Lance Stroll, Nicholas Latifi, Jack Aitken and Logan Sargeant; who all made their F1 debuts with Williams.
Current drivers
| Driver | Began | Current series | Titles as academy member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Chadwick[2][3]
|
2019 | Indy NXT | W Series (2019, 2021, 2022) |
| Zak O'Sullivan[4]
|
2022 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | None as Williams Driver Academy member |
| Franco Colapinto[5]
|
2023 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | None as Williams Driver Academy member |
| Luke Browning[6]
|
2023 | FIA Formula 3 Championship | FIA Formula 3 World Cup |
| Oleksandr Bondarev[7]
|
2023 | Karting (OK) | None as Williams Driver Academy member |
| Lia Block[8]
|
2023 | F1 Academy | None as Williams Driver Academy member |
| Alessandro Giusti[9]
|
2024 | Formula Regional European Championship | None as Williams Driver Academy member |
| Sara Matsui[9]
|
2024 | Karting (OKJ) | None as Williams Driver Academy member |
Former drivers
| Driver | Years | Series competed | F1 Team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Lance Stroll[10]
|
2016 | FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2016) | Williams (2017–2018) Racing Point (2019–2020) Aston Martin (2021–) |
| Oliver Rowland[11]
|
2018 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup (2018), Formula E (2018–19) | None |
| Nicholas Latifi[12]
|
2019 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019) | Williams (2020–2022) |
| Dan Ticktum[13][14]
|
2020–2021 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2020–2021) | None |
| Jack Aitken[15]
|
2020–2021 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2020–2021), GT World Challenge Europe (2021) | Williams (2020) |
 Roy Nissany[16]
|
2020–2022 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2020–2022), F3 Asian Championship (2021) | None |
| Logan Sargeant
|
2021–2022 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022) | Williams (2023–) |
| Oliver Gray
|
2022–2023 | F4 British Championship (2022), FIA Formula 3 Championship (2023) | None |
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
See also
References
- ^ Barretto, Lawrence (8 April 2020). "The Williams Driver Academy: A pursuit of talent with a commercial upside". F1. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
- ^ "Jamie Chadwick joins Williams Racing Driver Academy". Williams F1. 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Jamie Chadwick continues in the Williams Racing Driver Academy". www.williamsf1.com. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "British teen racer Zak O'Sullivan joins Williams Driver Academy | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ "Franco Colapinto joins Williams Racing Driver Academy". Williams Racing. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Luke Browning joins the Williams Racing Driver Academy".
- ^ "Oleksandr Bondarev joins the Williams Racing Driver Academy".
- ^ "Lia Block to drive for Williams Racing in F1 Academy". Williams Racing. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Alessandro Giusti and Sara Matsui join the Williams Racing Driver Academy". Williams Racing. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Williams sign Canadian Lance Stroll to young driver programme". Sky Sports. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ "Oliver Rowland gets Williams Formula 1 role for 2018". www.autosport.com. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "W Series star Jamie Chadwick joins Williams' Driver Academy | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Dan Ticktum joins Williams Racing Driver Academy". Williams F1. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Williams release development driver Dan Ticktum | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Jack Aitken confirmed as Reserve Driver for ROKiT Williams Racing". Williams F1. 4 February 2020. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Roy Nissany is confirmed as Official Test Driver". Williams F1. 15 January 2020. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.