Euroformula Open champion Harrison Scott, BRDC British Formula 3 champion Enaam Ahmed and Formula Renault race-winners Max Fewtrell and Dan Ticktum have been named as the finalists for the 2017 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
The quartet will be assessed over two days at Silverstone during November, ahead of December?s Autosport Awards where the winner will be revealed.
The examination process includes drive in a McLaren GT3 car, a Mercedes DTM car and Jonathan Palmer’s Formula 2 cars on Silverstone?s Grand Prix layout, alongside a fitness evaluation, an interview and time in Mclaren?s state-of-the-art Formula 1 simulator.
The five-strong judging panel will continue to be chaired by British Racing Drivers’ Club president David Warwick, and also includes past British Touring Car and Formula Renault champion Jason Plato. McLaren will oversee the fitness and simulator aspects.
The prize is the offer of a McLaren simulator role for 2018, a test in a Formula 1 car, full British Racing Drivers’ Club membership and an Arai crash helmet.
Only one of this year?s finalists has previously made it to the assessment phase, with Scott doing so in 2014 after finishing second in British Formula Ford.
Of the four finalists, Scott has also won a championship at the highest level, having spent 2017 in the continental Euroformula Open championship, which is modern Formula 3 in all but name.
He has dominated the season so far, winning 10 of the 12 races for RP Motorsport and winning the title with four races to spare.
Ahmed has shown similar levels of control in BRDC British F3 for Carlin, where he has won 13 times on the way to the 2017 title. He also won a race in the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series at the start of the year.
Max Fewtrell and Dan Ticktum currently sit sixth and seventh in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup standings for Tech 1 and Arden respectively, and both have previously raced in British F4, where Renault Sport Academy racer Fewtrell was champion in 2016.
Ticktum, who was banned from motorsport for a year in 2015, is a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. He also has F3 experience, and last month Red Bull promoted him to GP3, where will see out the rest of the season for DAMS.