2024 AWARD CONTENDERS CHOSEN
The battle for £200,000 and an F1 test begins
The final 10 candidates for the 2024 Silverstone Autosport BRDC Award, supported by Silverstone Circuits Ltd, have been selected.
The Award, which started in 1989, aims to find and assist the best junior British racing drivers. The prize for this year’s winner includes £200,000 and a Formula 1 test with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team.
Finalists have to primarily compete in a category below Formula 3 or be an F3 rookie, and be 16 years old by the time of the Award assessments at Silverstone in October. They must be under 24 at the start of the year.
F3 race winners and former finalists Arvid Lindblad and Callum Voisin, GB3 title contenders Louis Sharp, John Bennett and Will Macintyre, Italian F4 dominator Freddie Slater, runaway British F4 points leader Deagen Fairclough, F1 Academy championship favourite Abbi Pulling, GB4 race winner Alisha Palmowski and USF Juniors frontrunner Liam McNeilly are the 10.
BRDC vice-president and F1 driver steward Derek Warwick is the chairman of the judging panel, which includes three-time grand prix victor Johnny Herbert, Award winners Andrew Kirkaldy, Alexander Sims and Darren Turner, triple Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, successful McLaren designer Mark Williams, top engineer Leena Gade, leading commentator Ian Titchmarsh and Autosport’s Kevin Turner.
The judges, who reserve the right to introduce a wild card for drivers excelling in the closing stages of the season, will select the final four in the coming weeks. After testing on the Silverstone GP track in MotorSport Vision F2, GT3 and LMP3 machinery, the winner will be announced at the Autosport Awards in January.
John Bennett
2nd in GB3 with JHR Developments
Bennett has come on strong in his third season of GB3. After stints at Elite and Rodin, his move to JHR yielded a first and a second in the opening meeting of 2024. Results have been mixed since then, but a strong Silverstone round last month has launched the 20-year-old into title contention.
Deagen Fairclough
1st in British F4 with Hitech
Fairclough finished third in British F4 last season, his first single-seater campaign, and is dominating this year’s championship after switching from JHR to Hitech. The 18-year-old has won nine of the 20 races so far and is 101 points clear of the pack.
Arvid Lindblad
4th in F3 with Prema Racing
A finalist last year thanks to impressive showings in Italian F4, Red Bull Junior Lindblad has carried his momentum into 2024 despite the big leap to F3. The Prema Racing driver has taken four wins and the 17-year-old will head to the Monza finale with a chance of the crown.
Will Macintyre
4th in GB3 with Hitech
Three early wins put GB3 rookie Macintyre in the championship mix and he briefly topped the table in Hungary. The 17-year-old, who was British F4 runner-up last year, has fallen back a little since then but is still a strong fourth with two events to go.
Liam McNeilly
4th in USF Juniors with Jay Howard Driver Development
A race winner in Ginetta Junior and GB4, 18-year-old McNeilly has headed to the United States and is a frontrunner in USF Juniors, the first rung on what used to be known as the Road to Indy ladder. He was also a podium finisher on a one-off outing in the higher-level USF2000.
Alisha Palmowski
3rd in GB4 with Elite Motorsport
In her first season of single-seaters, following a stint in Ginetta Junior, 17-year-old Palmowski has impressed with her pace in GB4 for Elite. She has scored three wins and is in the championship fight with Swede Linus Granfors and sophomore GB4 competitor Harry Burgoyne.
Abbi Pulling
1st in F1 Academy 6th in British F4 with Rodin
Pulling has been racing at this level for a while now but has started to make a name for herself by dominating the all-female F1 Academy. The 21-year-old has scored four wins and two seconds in her six outings with Rodin and has also been a winner in British F4.
Louis Sharp
1st in GB3 with Rodin Motorsport
Known as a Kiwi, Sharp was born in Nottingham and has a British passport, so is eligible for the Award. The 17-year-old, who was British F4 champion in 2023, currently heads a tight GB3 title fight by four points after two wins and five other podiums with Rodin.
Freddie Slater
1st in Italian F4 with Prema Racing
Some strong talent has emerged from Italian F4 and Slater, who recently turned 16, is the undisputed star of this year’s crop. The reigning Ginetta Junior and F4 UAE champion has won 11 of the 14 races so far and could clinch the title next time out at Barcelona.
Callum Voisin
10th in F3 with Rodin Motorsport
The reigning GB3 champion’s rookie F3 campaign proved tricky early on but the 18-year-old has plugged away with Rodin and the results have started to come. A first series podium at Silverstone was followed by pole, fastest lap and victory at Spa, putting Voisin into the championship top-10.
