Inside the fight to follow Button, Russell and Norris

Think about being pressured to dwell with out your cell phone for 2 days. Over the previous couple of many years, that has gone from being mildly irritating to borderline catastrophic, given what number of issues our telephones at the moment are essential for. However being disconnected from the skin world is simply one of many challenges that face the finalists of the Silverstone Autosport BRDC Younger Driver of the Yr Award.

By the point the 4 younger drivers rock up on the house of the British Grand Prix and are shocked to have handy over their units, they’ve already been put by means of health and simulator checks. The 2024 finalists have visited Porsche Human Efficiency to have their energy and cardiovascular ranges assessed, giving the Award judges helpful info and offering suggestions that may be given to every finalist as soon as the competitors is over.

It’s an identical story with the Mercedes sim: 40 laps of the Silverstone GP circuit in a W15 Components 1 automotive, arrange because it was for George Russell’s 2024 British GP pole and with Anthony Davidson setting a reference lap. The duty is cut up over 4 runs of 10 laps, with the primary a familiarisation and never assessed, adopted by two baseline runs.

A blind set-up change is made for the finale to evaluate the drivers’ suggestions and adaptableness. Every driver is scored throughout consistency, final tempo, response to set-up adjustments and strategy/perspective for a remaining rating. In 2024, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Workforce report mentioned: “All 4 drivers have proven a excessive stage of driving high quality and unbelievable pace for his or her age and stage of expertise.”

Then it’s time to move to Silverstone for actual. The 2024 foursome are British F4 champion Deagen Fairclough, F3 race winner Arvid Lindblad, GB3 title winner Louis Sharp and Italian F4 dominator Freddie Slater. Three on-track disciplines present the meat of the Award: a 500bhp Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3, 455bhp RLR M Sport Ligier LMP3 sports-prototype and – for the ultimate time after 15 years of service – the 425bhp MotorSport Imaginative and prescient Williams-built F2 automotive.

PLUS: How an underrated Williams proved its worth beyond a brief competition career

The prize, after all, is £200,000 and an Aston Martin F1 check, to not point out the status that comes with becoming a member of a listing of winners who embody 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button, 13-time grand prix victor David Coulthard, present stars Russell and Lando Norris, plus IndyCar legend Dario Franchitti, 2014 World Endurance champion Davidson and 2023 Components E high canine Jake Dennis.

Leaping between totally different vehicles and performing persistently in every varieties an essential a part of the Award check

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro

After preliminary briefings, the drivers get sighter laps in Silverstone’s trackday Aston Martins. Although not a part of the evaluation, the mixture of high-performance street vehicles and younger racers isn’t boring, and the Vantages typically return steaming after just some laps.

The 2 days are intense. The primary half-day is spent within the equivalent F2 vehicles, with the 4 on observe on the identical time, for previous and new-tyre runs. The afternoon is spent within the solo GT and LMP3 vehicles, on observe on the identical time, with drivers getting two runs on previous rubber earlier than a remaining sortie on contemporary Pirellis in every.

Benchmark drivers Wayne Boyd (Ligier) and Jonny Adam (Aston) are readily available to supply recommendation and drive the vehicles earlier than and after the finalists with a view to take observe evolution under consideration. When the 4 youngsters and Adam all produce instances inside 0.2 seconds within the Aston GT3, the judges – led by ex-F1 racer and 1992 world sportscar champion Derek Warwick – know they’re in for a troublesome time.

In recent times, the finalists have tended to be extra pally with one another, although the accuracy of the data they share amongst themselves is open to query!

As you’d anticipate, some years are simple for the judges, with one driver dominating. Others, such because the 2011 contest between Oliver Rowland, Alex Lynn and Tom Blomqvist, are harder and require hours of debate and delving by means of the in depth information supplied by the groups, TSL and our information engineer, which in 2024 is Philippa Treacy from the Aston Martin Aramco F1 Workforce.

On each nights, the finalists have dinner with the judges, informally earlier than day one and, extra formally, with Award stakeholders the next evening. In addition to giving everybody the possibility to get to know one another higher, the evenings may be enjoyable and enlightening – one finalist a number of years in the past turned out to be a somewhat fantastic pianist, for instance. After all, the finalists are despatched to mattress good and early.

Day two is all in regards to the F2 automotive and is usually essential as these with much less expertise of huge single-seaters stand up to hurry. For instance, Lindblad was a finalist in 2023 and has spent a season racing Dallara’s 380bhp F3 machine, whereas Fairclough and Slater are stepping up from 180bhp F4 vehicles, so extra acclimatisation time is anticipated (although not at all times required!). The occasion’s quickest laps typically come now.

It’s fascinating to see how finalists react to the bizarre surroundings, notably because it’s most likely the one time of their careers once they’ll not see the lap instances of rivals. Some get tense, whereas others simply love leaping into totally different vehicles. In recent times, the finalists have tended to be extra pally with one another, although the accuracy of the data they share amongst themselves is open to query!

This yr’s crop have been laborious to separate, particularly within the Aston Martin GT3

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro

With the judges across the circuit or within the garages with the drivers and engineers, there are additionally possibilities to identify totally different types or cheeky moments – such because the odd finalist who jumps out of their F2 automotive and walks behind all the opposite vehicles to see the lap instances on the steering wheel shows earlier than they’re wiped…

Your author has been concerned within the Award since 2006 and a choose since 2008, and doesn’t suppose it’s giving freely an excessive amount of to say that the 2024 contest was exceptional, each by way of the top quality of driving and the way shut it was. The 12-lap pursuit run, which is assessed utilizing the general ‘race time’ somewhat than finest lap, was unbelievable. Simply 0.001s separated the highest two on complete time throughout the 12 laps and 1.3s coated all 4.

In spite of everything that, the drivers have another interview with the judges earlier than they’ll go away – and get their telephones again. Then it’s the even longer wait to search out out whether or not they’ve received one among motorsport’s greatest prizes.

The 2024 judges

Derek Warwick (chairman), Dario Franchitti, Leena Gade, Johnny Herbert, Andrew Kirkaldy, Jason Plato, Andy Priaulx, Alexander Sims, Ian Titchmarsh, Darren Turner, Kevin Turner and Mark Williams

Deagen Fairclough

F4 champion Fairclough relished the chance to step up in energy

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro

Age: 18
2025: GB3 with Hitech
2024: British F4 champion with Hitech

He says: “I’m nonetheless actually pleased about it and really feel the check went effectively. It was thrilling and is a reminiscence that can keep in my thoughts for a very long time.

“The Components 2 automotive was mega enjoyable. You’re making an attempt to be on the restrict with out crashing, as a result of that will get you disqualified. I hadn’t been in a position to drive something sooner than an F4 automotive beforehand, so it was an enormous leap and I didn’t know if I’d be capable of do the bodily facet, nevertheless it was all good.”

Arvid Lindblad

Lindblad, pictured with judges Sims, Gade and Warwick, felt higher ready for his second time within the Awards check

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro

Age: 17
2025: F2 with Campos Racing
2024: 4th in F3 with Prema Racing

He says: “The 2 days have been actually cool – attending to drive three totally different vehicles, particularly the GT3 and LMP3, that are two totally different types of motorsport to what I’m used to.

“I got here in higher ready this time [after being a finalist in 2023]. I knew it was at all times going to be very tough with quite a lot of expertise coming to the checks and I knew I used to be going to need to be on high of my sport.”

Freddie Slater

Slater loved attending to grips with the Aston Martin Vantage

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro

Age: 16
2025: Components Regional European with Prema Racing
2024: Italian F4 champion with Prema Racing

He says: “You do take into consideration how you probably did and what you might have carried out higher. It’s a bizarre factor as a result of in regular racing you know the way you’ve carried out, however we’ve no concept.

“Probably the most satisfying bit was the GT. It’s so totally different, heavy however fast in a straight line. The F2 wanted a special strategy to what I’m used to. It didn’t just like the kerbs and the turbo lag was fairly massive, however the entrance wing adjustment was good.”

Louis Sharp

Sharp, downloading with Warwick, relished switching between machines

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro

Age: 17
2025: F3 with Rodin Motorsport
2024: GB3 champion with Rodin Motorsport

He says: “I actually loved driving the totally different vehicles, and with the ability to adapt to them was my favorite half. The GT3 was most likely my favorite automotive and the F2, being a single-seater, is extra what I’m used to however sooner!

“The difficult factor isn’t understanding the way you’re doing. You don’t have team-mates’ information or different folks’s lap instances – you’re blind. All you are able to do is deal with your self and do one of the best job you may.”

This text is one among many within the new month-to-month concern of Autosport journal. For extra premium content material, check out the February 2025 concern and subscribe today.

Who would be the winner of this yr’s Silverstone Autosport BRDC Younger Driver of the Yr Award?

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro