GB3 champion Luke Browning has been named as the 33rd winner of the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, at Sunday evening's (4 December) Autosport Awards in London.
In front of some of the world's most prominent motorsport personalities at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Browning picked up one of racing's most sought-after prizes, joining drivers including David Coulthard, Jenson Button, George Russell and Lando Norris as a winner of the award.
The 20-year-old receives a cash prize of £200,000, a test with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team, full BRDC membership and an Arai helmet.
Browning won five races and took eight additional podiums on the way to this year's GB3 crown with Hitech GP, finishing 46.5-points clear of nearest rival Joel Granfors. He's also due to test an FIA F3 car, his prize for winning the championship.
His GB3 title success preceded the award assessments, which saw him take part in a two day on-track assessment at Silverstone in MSV F2, United Autosports Ligier LMP3 and Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 cars, as well as fitness and simulator elements.
A panel of expert judges including BRDC vice-president Derek Warwick, previous award winners Dario Franchitti, Darren Turner, Andrew Kirkaldy and Alexander Sims, BTCC legend Jason Plato, successful Lola and McLaren designer Mark Williams, Le Mans-winning engineer Leena Gade, leading commentator Ian Titchmarsh and Autosport editor Kevin Turner, presided over the assessments and picked Browning as the latest winner.
Browning, who received his award from F1 legend Sebastian Vettel, said: "What an incredible experience, obviously the organisation that goes into it, all the cars ran absolutely flawlessly throughout and that's a credit to all the guys at MSV and Jonathan Palmer. It's incredible that they get the cars out each year. What a beast to drive!
"It's incredible [to win it]. Back to the inaugural 1989 winner David Coulthard, it feels very special to see all the names come through, and to add my name to the list, words can't describe how grateful I am for the opportunity. It's been a great year and this is the cherry on top. We claimed the teams and the drivers title in GB3 and thanks to the guys for everything this year. I'm so grateful, thank you."
The British driver is the seventh driver from the GB3 Championship and its BRDC F4/BRDC British F3 predecessors to win the award from the last eight times it has been presented.