George Russell
As a double European junior champion in karting, Russell?s entrance into single-seaters was another that was highly anticipated. The Briton, who turned 16 in February, embarked on a dual campaign in the BRDC F4 Championship in his homeland and the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps series on the continent, with top teams Lanan and Koiranen respectively.
His F4 campaign started brilliantly, winning two races on the opening weekend at Silverstone to lead the championship. During the first four rounds he was a consistent frontrunner and podium finisher and added further wins at Brands Hatch and Oulton Park.
The second half of his season was much more difficult, though. His pace was not the same, and a second run-in with a rival at Donington saw him lose the points lead to team-mate Arjun Maini with a round to go. But Russell recovered brilliantly at the final weekend – even when the opening race didn?t go his way – triumphing in the last race of the season to claim the title.
His Alps campaign saw him score a best result of second place in Spielberg and finish the year fourth in the standings, despite having to miss a round due to chicken pox. But he saved his best performance in Formula Renault 2.0 for the final round of the Eurocup at Jerez, where he switched to Tech 1 to make a guest appearance. After coming fifth in the first race, he won the second from pole position.
To top off his year, he impressed on his day of GP3 testing in Abu Dhabi as a prize for winning the F4 title, and then collected the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, seeing off tough opposition that included fellow first-year title winner Ben Barnicoat. After an almighty first season in car racing, Russell now looks set to step up to European F3 with Carlin in 2015.
Peter Allen