Autosport BRDC Award

The Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award is an award set up in 1989, following on from the Grovewood Awards, to reward and recognise young racing drivers from the UK.[1] As its names suggest, the award is backed by Aston Martin, motorsport magazine Autosport, and the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC). As well as the prestige of winning the award, a test drive in an Aston Martin Formula One car and £100,000[2] – increased from £50,000 in 2010 – cash prize, the award winner is also presented with the Chris Bristow Trophy.[3]

McLaren ended its longstanding partnership with the accolade in January 2019, and Aston Martin replaced them. The 2019 winner received a test in a Red Bull Racing car at Silverstone, as Aston Martin was the team's sponsor. Since 2020, the winner gets a run in an Aston Martin F1 Team car, a FIA World Endurance Championship Aston Martin Vantage GTE car and an overall £200,000 prize fund.[4]

Procedure

[edit]

Members of the public are invited to nominate drivers for the award and a shortlist of six finalists is decided upon by the award's judging panel. The finalists then spend two or three days at a British circuit in mid-November driving different types of car to evaluate their performance as well as interview sessions with the panel. The winner is announced at the annual Autosport Awards in early December.

Past winners and nominees

[edit]
  • A total of 134 drivers have been nominated for the prize since it was first handed out.
Year Winner Career highlights Losing Finalists
1989 David Coulthard British Formula Ford champion (1989)
British F3 runner-up (1991)
F3000 3rd place (1993)
F1 (19942008), 13 wins
DTM (20102012)
no shootout
chosen by Autosport
1990 Gareth Rees Marlboro Masters F3 winner (1994)
British F2 winner (1996)
Philip Bate
Steve Brogan
David Cuff
Shaun Nicholson
James Rhodes
1991 Oliver Gavin British F3 champion (1995)
F1 test driver (Pacific, Benetton)
Five-time class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Dario Franchitti
Jonathan McGall
Dino Morelli
Guy Smith
Jamie Spence
1992 Dario Franchitti British Formula Vauxhall champion (1993)
CART runner-up (1999)
Indianapolis 500 Winner (2007, 2010, 2012)
IndyCar Series champion (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Paul Evans
Ralph Firman
Jonny Kane
Martin O'Connell
Brian Saunders
1993 Ralph Firman British F3 champion (1996)
Formula Nippon champion (2002)
Jordan F1 driver (2003)
Darren Malkin
Darren Manning
James Matthews
Guy Smith
Jamie Spence
1994 Jamie Davies F3000 4th place (1997)
British GT champion (2002)
GTS class winner at 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans Series champion (2004)
2nd place at 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans
Alex Deighton
Peter Dumbreck
Jonny Kane
James Matthews
Richard Westbrook
1995 Jonny Kane British Formula Vauxhall champion (1996)
British F3 champion (1997)
LMP2 class-winner at 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans
Wayne Douglas
Marc Hynes
Kevin McGarrity
Guy Smith
Justin Wilson
1996 Darren Turner Formula Renault UK runner-up (1996)
DTM (20002001)
BTCC (20062008)
24 Hours of Le Mans GT1 winner (2007, 2008)
24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Pro winner (2017)
David Cook
Peter Dumbreck
Darren Malkin
Tim Mullen
Dan Wheldon
1997 Andrew Kirkaldy British Formula Vauxhall runner-up (1997)
British GT champion (2005)
Matt Davies
Marc Hynes
Leighton Walker
Dan Wheldon
Adam Wilcox
1998 Jenson Button British Formula Ford champion (1998)
F1 (20002016), World Champion (2009)
Super GT GT500 champion (2018)
Doug Bell
Matt Davies
Robbie Kerr
James Pickford
Justin Wilson
1999 Gary Paffett British Formula Vauxhall champion (1999)
German F3 champion (2002)
DTM champion (2005, 2018)
Westley Barber
Ryan Dalziel
Richard Lyons
Craig Murray
Leighton Walker
2000 Anthony Davidson British Formula Ford champion (2000)
British F3 runner-up (2001)
BAR/Honda F1 test driver (20012006)
F1 with Super Aguri-Honda (2007–2008)
2nd overall at 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans
World Endurance Championship champion (2014)
Ryan Dalziel
Matt Gilmore
Derek Hayes
Robbie Kerr
Mark Taylor
2001 Steven Kane Northern Irish Formula Ford champion (2000)
British F3 Scholarship class runner-up (2003)
Spanish F3 3rd place (2004)
Carl Breeze
Matt Gilmore
Robbie Kerr
Simon Pullan
Danny Watts
2002 Jamie Green British F3 runner-up (2003)
Formula 3 Euro Series champion (2004)
DTM (8 wins, 3rd in 2012)
Westley Barber
Adam Carroll
Dan Eagling
Christian England
Danny Watts
2003 Alex Lloyd Indy Pro Series champion (2007)
4th in 2010 Indianapolis 500
IndyCar Rookie of the Year (2010)
Ben Clucas
Tom Kimber-Smith
James Rossiter
Ryan Sharp
Susie Stoddart
2004 Paul di Resta Formula 3 Euro Series champion (2006)
DTM champion (2010)
F1 Driver with Force India 2011-2013
24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winner (2020)
Tim Bridgman
Mike Conway
Jonathan Kennard
Scott Mansell
Susie Stoddart
2005 Oliver Jarvis Formula Renault UK champion (2005)
Macau Grand Prix winner (2007)
12 Hours of Sebring overall winner (2013)
24 Hours of Daytona GT class winner (2013)
24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winner (2017)
IMSA SportsCar Championship Daytona Prototype champion (2022)
Sam Bird
Joey Foster
James Jakes
Joe Tandy
Duncan Tappy
2006 Oliver Turvey British Formula BMW runner-up (2006)
British F3 runner-up (2008)
McLaren Formula One test driver
LMP2 class winner - Le Mans 24hr (2014)
Jon Barnes
Sam Bird
Nathan Freke
Jeremy Metcalfe
Oliver Oakes
2007 Stefan Wilson Formula Palmer Audi runner-up (2007)
3rd in 2011 Indy Lights
Henry Arundel
Callum MacLeod
Dean Smith
Nick Tandy
Duncan Tappy
2008 Alexander Sims Formula Renault UK runner-up (2008)
Nürburgring 24 Hours overall winner (2023)
IMSA SportsCar Championship GTP champion (2023)
Wayne Boyd
Adam Christodoulou
Jason Moore
Aaron Steele
Dean Stoneman
2009 Dean Smith Formula BMW UK champion (2005)
Formula Renault UK champion (2009)
James Calado
Adam Christodoulou
James Cole
Callum MacLeod
Chrissy Palmer
2010 Lewis Williamson Formula Renault UK runner-up (2010)
Blancpain Endurance Pro-Am Cup champion (2018)
Luciano Bacheta
Tom Blomqvist
Jack Harvey
Scott Malvern
Nigel Moore
2011 Oliver Rowland Formula Renault UK runner-up (2011)
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 runner-up (2013)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion (2015)
Emil Bernstorff
Tom Blomqvist
Alex Lynn
Scott Malvern
Dino Zamparelli
2012 Jake Dennis Intersteps champion (2011)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC champion (2012)
Formula E champion (2022–23)
Jack Hawksworth
Josh Hill
Jordan King
Melville McKee
Josh Webster
2013 Matt Parry Intersteps champion (2012)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC champion (2013)
Jack Aitken
Jake Hughes
Chris Middlehurst
Seb Morris
Charlie Robertson
2014 George Russell BRDC Formula 4 champion (2014)
GP3 Series champion (2017)
Formula 2 champion (2018)
Williams F1 driver (2019–2021)
Mercedes F1 driver (2022–present)
Alexander Albon
Ben Barnicoat
Sennan Fielding
Seb Morris
Harrison Scott
2015 Will Palmer BRDC Formula 4 champion (2015) Jack Aitken
Ben Barnicoat
Ricky Collard
Jake Hughes
Toby Sowery
2016 Lando Norris MSA Formula champion (2015)
Toyota Racing Series champion (2016)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC champion (2016)
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion (2016)
FIA Formula 3 European champion (2017)
McLaren F1 driver (2019–present)
Ricky Collard
Sennan Fielding
Toby Sowery
2017 Dan Ticktum Macau Grand Prix winner (2017, 2018) Enaam Ahmed
Max Fewtrell
Harrison Scott
2018 Tom Gamble Ginetta Junior Championship champion (2017)
European Le Mans Series LMP3 champion (2020)
Jamie Caroline
Max Fewtrell
Kiern Jewiss
2019 Johnathan Hoggard BRDC British Formula 3 Championship runner-up (2019) Enaam Ahmed[5]
Jamie Chadwick[5]
Ayrton Simmons[5]
2020 Award not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic[6]
2021 Zak O'Sullivan GB3 Championship champion (2021) Oliver Bearman[7]
Jonny Edgar[7]
Louis Foster[7]
2022 Luke Browning F4 British Championship champion (2020)
GB3 Championship champion (2022)
Macau Grand Prix winner (2023)
Oliver Bearman[8]
Jamie Chadwick[8]
Louis Foster[8]
2023 Joseph Loake BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship champion (2020)
3rd in GB3 Championship (2023)
Taylor Barnard[9]
Arvid Lindblad[9]
Callum Voisin[9]
2024 TBA Deagen Fairclough[10]
Arvid Lindblad[10]
Louis Sharp[10]
Freddie Slater[10]

References

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  1. ^ McLaren Mercedes – Young Driver Programme
  2. ^ "AUTOSPORT Award cash prize doubled". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 11 November 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  3. ^ British Racing Drivers' Club – Awards
  4. ^ Graham Keilloh (5 March 2019). "Aston Martin replaces McLaren as BRDC award sponsor". Motorsport Magazine.
  5. ^ a b c Cozens, Jack (26 September 2019). "Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award finalists revealed". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award paused for 2020". Autosport. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "FOUR FINALISTS SELECTED FOR 2021 ASTON MARTIN AUTOSPORT BRDC AWARD". BRDC. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "The 2022 AMABA finalists reflect on their evaluation tests". Autosport. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Turner, Kevin (21 September 2023). "Finalists revealed for 2023 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d Wood, Ida (26 September 2024). "Fairclough, Lindlad, Sharp and Slater in Autosport BRDC Award final". Formula Scout. Retrieved 26 September 2024.