Silverstone Autosport BRDC Award

The Silverstone Autosport BRDC Award is an award set up in 1989 to reward and recognise young racing drivers from the UK. As well as the prestige of winning the award, the victor earns a full test in an Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team car, a cheque for £200,000, Full Membership to the BRDC, an Arai helmet and Jordan Bespoke luxury leather helmet bag.

Finalists have to be primarily competing in a category below FIA Formula 3 or be an FIA F3 rookie, and be 16 years old by the time of the Award tests at Silverstone in October. They must also be under 24 at the start of the relevant year. The finalists conduct fitness and simulator tests before the two-day running on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. There they spend half a day driving GT3 and LMP3 machinery and the rest of the time with their own MotorSport Vision-run F2 car and engineer (selected at random).

After the simulator tests, the drivers are assessed on pace, consistency, feedback, approach and attitude, with reports provided to the judging panel. It is a similar story with the fitness tests, as the drivers are put through their paces in terms of strength and cardiovascular performance. As well as providing assessment information, the simulator and fitness elements also help with feedback, which is offered to all the finalists – win or lose – at the beginning of the following year.

At the track, following sighting laps in Aston Martin road cars and a brief shakedown in the F2s, benchmark drivers (BRDC Members) set times in the GT3 and LMP3 cars respectively. Each finalist then has two runs on old rubber in each car, before a final effort on new Pirellis. The finalists are allowed to see the data from the benchmark driver – and to get their advice – but aren’t allowed to see each other’s times. Then it is back to the F2 cars. After another five-lap run on old tyres and a debrief, the quartet have two five-lap runs on new rubber, with the aim being to set the fastest single lap time across the session.

Some drivers come out in a different frame of mind for day two, which is spent in the F2 cars. The first outing is a seven-lap run on old tyres, to give the drivers an idea of tyre degradation ahead of the afternoon’s ‘pursuit run’. Another five-lapper then preceded a new element in 2021: fresh tyres were bolted on for two one-lap runs. There is then another five-lap run on new tyres before the ‘pursuit’, where the drivers set off at intervals, given an out-lap and one tour to prepare, then start a 12-lap run with the aim of doing the shortest ‘race’ time. No laps to back off and cool the tyres, no scope for errors – it’s a test of consistency and dealing with the rubber going off.

After the final runs each driver is interviewed by the judges, there is more F2 feedback from the lead engineer, and then the judges are left to their deliberations…