Luke Browning praised the HANS device for ‘saving his neck’ in a high-speed crash at Suzuka in this week’s Super Formula test.
A GB3 champion, Macau Grand Prix winner, and F3 and F2 frontrunner, Browning has switched to Japan’s premier single-seater championship for the 2026 season, competing for Toyota-powered Kondo Racing.
The Williams Formula 1 reserve driver got to grips with Super Formula machinery over two days in last December’s test, then took part in this week’s pre-season running.
Torrential rain made the Suzuka track substantially wet on Wednesday, and Browning suddenly lost control in the high-speed 130R curve, spinning into the gravel and rolling over the tyre barrier. His car landed upside down on the embankment.
“It was just a push lap,” the 24-year-old Briton said on Wednesday evening. “A bit of an unfortunate crash, just aquaplaned unfortunately when the rain came down. So I was a little bit of a passenger at that point.
“I think in hindsight I would have pitted when the rain came down so hard. These lessons you learn, it’s all about learning over here. And yeah, for me, that was a lesson learned today that I can take to go forward in my career.”
Asked if he was feeling any pain, with the footage seemingly showing his head and neck taking a substantial blow, Browning replied: “All good, completely fine. Luckily I landed on the hay and did not hit the barriers, so I feel all good.”
“The HANS device is just fantastic. I think that saved my neck. Big thanks to them guys.”
The Kondo mechanics repaired Browning’s car in time for Thursday’s running, with the Englishman ending up 18th fastest overall, 1.075s off the pace – though he was more competitive in wet conditions.
“It’s going a lot better than we thought, to be honest,” he said prior to the second day of testing. “I mean, it’s definitely super difficult. The standard over here is very high.
“The wet has always been a strong condition for me, and I think I was able to show that today in the times we’re able to do, and considering our lap time is done without overtake [mode], I think we seem very quick in comparison, or we look like we’re fast.
“Let’s see when it comes to the dry when maybe we have to do a little bit more development. But the Kondo car has been quick.
“I really want to show that this team can be fast. There’s been a lot of development going in the off-season to be quick, and I think we showed that.”
