Browning 'in a good place’ ahead of Qualifying after going fastest in Spa Free Practice

Luke Browning made a strong start to his Spa Francorchamps weekend by topping the timesheets at Friday morning’s mixed conditions Free Practice.

The Hitech Pulse-Eight was quick straight out of the box on the Wet tyres, going fastest early on by nearly seven-tenths to his fellow title hopeful, ART Grand Prix driver Christian Mansell.

However, as the sun came out and the track dried out, the drivers came back on to the track on slick tyres, with the fastest time changing hands-on multiple occasions in the closing stages.

PRACTICE: Browning sets the pace amid mixed conditions in Spa-Francorchamps

But it was Browning that timed his last lap perfectly, going fastest with 2:15.570, eclipsing Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel León’s previous pace-setting effort by just 0.030s.

Speaking after the session, Browning was happy with how things went, believing that the changing conditions play to his strengths.

“I think we turned up and, classic Formula 3 style, we don't get too many laps to adapt,” he joked. “Free Practice went well, I think we were seven-tenths clear on the initial few laps, until we switched over to the slicks and continued to have strong runs.

“These changeable conditions seem to favour me being from the UK but let’s see how it plays out in Qualifying because I think we are ready for every condition.”

Browning believes the mixed weather conditions in Free Practice could be to the benefit of not just him but also the rest of his rivals.

With weather conditions at Spa historically known to be quite unpredictable, getting a few laps in both situations should prepare him and the other drivers well for what might come in Qualifying and the races.

However, given his performance in the wet conditions at Silverstone, Browning admits he would not mind a bit of rain during Qualifying later today.

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“I've managed to feel both conditions now and I think we are confident that it will just be about timing,” he explained. “The weather is quite unpredictable here so we will keep our eye on the weather radar.

“I think a little bit of wet weather wouldn't be too bad. I think in Silverstone we showed in the opening laps of the race that we were really quick, so I feel really confident in the Hitech car.”

Spa plays host to the penultimate round of the 2024 season with the title set to go down to the wire. Browning currently sits second in a Championship where the top six covered by 30 points.

He downplays the importance of that going into Qualifying and is instead focusing his attentions on making sure they are in a good position to maximise their performance for the pole position shootout later today.

“I think our pace is strong and our mentality is in a good place,” he added. “I’m not going to over push and I’m just going to let it come to me. If it does, it does, if it doesn't it's out of my hands. We are in a good place so let’s see how it pans out.”