Over the past 11 seasons, the GB3 Championship and its BRDC F4 and BRDC British F3 predecessors have produced a dazzling list of alumni, with graduates now winning in F1, sports cars, and IndyCar.
Just some of the leading contenders from seasons gone by have now been added to our Hall of Fame page, with the majority receiving international acclaim at the top levels of motorsport.
Formula One
Three championship graduates (George Russell, Lando Norris and Pietro Fittipaldi) have now raced in F1, with a combined 210 race starts, 24 podiums, two pole positions and 12 fastest laps. Mercedes driver Russell claimed his first victory at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, having also won the Sprint the day beforehand, while Norris looks closer than ever to a breakthrough triumph, as he leads McLaren’s renaissance.
In addition, Zak O’Sullivan and Oliver Bearman have driven F1 cars in free practice sessions, while Will Palmer, Tom Gamble, Johnathan Hoggard, and Luke Browning have tested F1 machinery with either McLaren or Aston Martin as a result of winning the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award (formerly the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award), a feat also matched by Russell, Norris and O’Sullivan. Joseph Loake will get his turn behind the wheel of an Aston Martin F1 car next year after winning this year’s prize.
Several graduates have also secured simulator roles with F1 teams, assisting the development of multiple championship winning machines, and many more are climbing through the FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2 ranks.
O’Sullivan and Browning are now Williams F1 Academy drivers, with Bearman a member of the Ferrari Academy.
IndyCar
The route up the American single-seater ladder has become a popular destination for several graduates also, following in the footsteps of 2016 BRDC British F3 champion Matheus Leist, who raced in IndyCar for two seasons between 2018 and 2019.
Benjamin Pedersen, a British F3 race winner in 2019 and 2020 has since followed him, making his top-line debut in 2023 and qualifying inside the top-11 for the Indy 500.
Linus Lundqvist, the 2018 British F3 champion, has now landed one of the top IndyCar seats for 2024, as he joins Chip Ganassi Racing, having won the 2022 Indy Lights title. The Swedish driver made three IndyCar starts this season as a substitute driver for the Meyer Shank Racing team, and stunned by setting the fastest race lap on his debut, an achievement he repeated in his third appearance at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Another British F3 race winner, Colton Herta, is also established as one of IndyCar’s brightest talents, having claimed seven wins since 2019.
Other drivers pursuing the American Dream include Louis Foster, who won the IndyPro 2000 title a year ago, and raced in the second tier Indy NXT series in 2023, as did Jamie Chadwick, the first woman to win a British F3 race and the triple W Series champion. Both remain in the category next year.
Sports cars and Formula E
Graduates have also excelled in sports cars, with many going on to race at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Charlie Eastwood, a BRDC F4 podium finisher, won the LMGTE Am class for Aston Martin at the legendary French endurance contest in 2020, a feat repeated by British F3 race winner Nico Varrone earlier this year. The Argentine driver then claimed the World Championship title for Corvette at the end of the season.
Eastwood is now an official Corvette driver, having filled the same role previously for Aston Martin, while 2013 BRDC F4 race winner Ross Gunn remains a works driver for the British marque, having first raced for their cars back in 2015.
Ulysse De Pauw is another graduate that’s become a widely acclaimed GT driver, having won the GT World Challenge Sprint Cup Silver title in 2023, and making his Le Mans debut in 2023.
Finally, inaugural BRDC F4 champion Jake Hughes has linked forces with McLaren in the Formula E World Championship, taking two pole positions in his debut season, and even setting a new indoor world speed record!
With GB3’s track record firmly established, dozens more drivers are likely to force their way into the top ranks of world motorsport in the coming seasons, and add their names to the Hall of Fame.
Click here to view the GB3 Hall of Fame.