Zak O’Sullivan and Luke Browning are old rivals. The compatriots have plenty of history, with tensions first coming to a head in the 2020 British Formula 4 finale. As COVID lockdowns left circuits without spectators, O’Sullivan and Browning headed to Brands Hatch tied. By the final race, Browning had a 16-point lead, but his route to sealing the crown was far from straightforward.
O’Sullivan took the lead at the start before both went off on oil. O’Sullivan managed to rejoin without losing a place, but Browning spun back to 10th, putting O’Sullivan on the cusp of glory. Then the Great British weather intervened. Torrential downpours caused the race to be red-flagged and there wasn't time to restart. With less than 75% of the race completed, only half points were awarded, turning the advantage back in Browning's favour. He won by just four points, prompting elation from a disbelieving Fortec driver and despair from his Carlin rival.
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Their paths diverged after that fateful day in Kent, with Browning opting for an ADAC F4 campaign in 2021 while O’Sullivan took the GB3 crown. Browning then emulated him the following season, as O’Sullivan ran his rookie Formula 3 campaign with Carlin, finishing 11th with two podiums and 54 points.
But the pair are now back on the same grid and their history is water under the bridge, with the fierce fighting of old forgotten as members of the Williams Driver Academy forging separate paths in F3. O’Sullivan, 18, is now in his second season having moved to Prema as 21-year-old Browning completes his first with Hitech.
Though O’Sullivan sees Browning as an old rival “to a degree,” he says: “I'm sure we’ve put any previous altercations behind us”.
In conversation with Autosport at Silverstone, Browning concurs: “Not this year. I think I was ahead of him in the championship until the last round, but equally, he’s in his second year with a team that has been very successful, so I expect him to do well this year. I don’t doubt how good a driver he is so I expect him to do well.
“We’ll see at the end of the year. But of course, I want to beat everyone at the end of the day and he's one of the names, that's fine.”
Source: Autosport