The Silverstone Autosport BRDC Award is an award set up in 1989, following the demise of the Grovewood Awards, to reward and recognise young racing drivers from the UK. [1] As its names suggest, the award is backed by Silverstone, 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 £200,000 [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 was replaced by Aston Martin. The 2019 winner received a test in a Red Bull Racing car at Silverstone, as Aston Martin was the team's sponsor, and test in an FIA World Endurance Championship Aston Martin Vantage GTE car. The Award was not held in 2020, but since 2021, the winner has received a test in an Aston Martin F1 Team car and an overall £200,000 prize fund. [4]
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.
Stefan James Wilson is a British racing driver. He is the younger brother of the late Formula One and IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson. He is also the winner of the 2007 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award for promising young British drivers.
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Tom Leonard Blomqvist is a British racing driver. He competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Meyer Shank Racing. Blomqvist also competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with United Autosports in the LMP2 category. Blomqvist won the 2022 and 2023 24 Hours of Daytona with Meyer Shank and the 2018 24 Hours of Spa with BMW Motorsport. He is the son of 1984 Swedish World Rally Champion, Stig Blomqvist.
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The Aston Martin AMR21 is a Formula One racing car designed and developed by the Aston Martin Formula One team, that competed in the 2021 Formula One World Championship. This was the first car to be entered by the returning Aston Martin team. The car was driven by Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll. Vettel, who has made a habit of naming his cars since his days at Toro Rosso, named his car "Honey Ryder" in reference to Ursula Andress' character in the 1962 James Bond movie Dr. No.
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Tom Gamble is a British racing driver who currently races for United Autosports in European Le Mans Series. He is a Ginetta Junior champion, a BRDC British Formula 3 race winner, and has previously competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He won the Autosport BRDC Award in 2018, for which he received a prize Formula One test with McLaren. Five years later, in 2023, Gamble joined McLaren as a factory driver.
Callum Voisin is a British-Swiss racing driver who is set to compete in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for Rodin Motorsport. He is the 2023 GB3 champion.
Joseph Loake is a British racing driver who most recently competed in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Rodin Motorsport. He is the 2020 BRSCC Fiesta Junior Champion, and a race winner in both the British F4 and GB3 championships. He is also the latest winner of the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award.