Autosport Awards by means of the years

Autosport is 75 years previous in 2025 and a new-look Autosport Awards will kick off the celebrations.

The Awards has moved from its conventional December slot at Grosvenor Home Lodge to the Roundhouse in January. However a few of the historical past, together with a choice of the important thing Awards, stays – and the celebs typically attend the occasion to obtain their Awards in entrance of motorsport luminaries.

The inaugural occasion was in 1988, however the awards themselves date again to 1982. Within the 2 December journal that yr, Autosport referred to as on its readers to vote on eight classes. 4 of these – Worldwide Racing Driver, Nationwide Racing Driver, British Competitors Driver and Worldwide Rally Driver – stay, whereas the Racing Automotive and Rally Automotive prizes have been mixed for our present Worldwide Competitors Automotive Award.

That yr’s System 1 world champion Keke Rosberg was the primary winner of the celebrated Worldwide Racing Driver Award and was adopted by fellow title winners Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton holds the report, successful the fan vote eight occasions.

Hamilton additionally has the best variety of British Competitors Driver wins with eight, whereas present McLaren star Lando Norris is on 4. Each are candidates for the 2024 Award.

Michele Mouton was the inaugural Rally Driver of the Yr, which British drivers Colin McRae (3 times) and Richard Burns (twice) received in subsequent years. Appropriately given their domination of the game, Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier share the report on seven wins, although Ogier is a candidate once more this time round so might transfer forward.

Audi’s revolutionary Quattro received the primary two editions of the Rally Automotive Award, whereas the Porsche 956 took the Racing Automotive laurels in 1982. It was adopted by such legendary machines because the 1988 McLaren MP4/4, 1992 Williams FW14B, 2004 Ferrari F2004, 2020 Mercedes W11 and 2023 Pink Bull RB19. The final non-F1 winner was the Le Mans-winning Bentley Velocity 8 in 2003.

Because the Awards grew and have become an precise occasion, different honours had been added. Arguably the most important was the McLaren Autosport Award, now often called the Silverstone Autosport BRDC Younger Driver of the Yr Award, which to at the present time goals to search out and help the very best up-and-coming British skills in single-seater racing.

David Coulthard was chosen as the primary victor, after which a shootout was organised for future finalists. Subsequent winners included 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button, 2014 World Endurance title winner Anthony Davidson, present F1 stars George Russell and Norris, plus IndyCar legend Dario Franchitti.

The Younger Driver Award has come to offer the climax of the Autosport Awards night time and the 2024 winners might be introduced on the Roundhouse on 29 January.

The 2024 Younger Driver finalists

Rookie of the Yr arrived in 2000 – and was received by Button – whereas different Awards to have been added, typically chosen by an knowledgeable judging panel, embrace the Pioneering and Innovation Award, Second of the Yr, Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future, Motorsport Promoter, and Model Partnership. Lifetime and technical achievement awards had been additionally introduced in and used to recollect Autosport founding editor Gregor Grant and longtime technical editor John Bolster.

The Awards have additionally performed their half in motorsport historical past. Hamilton famously launched himself to then McLaren boss Ron Dennis on the 1995 Awards, when he was only a 10-year-old karter.

The 2024 winners might be lined on autosport.com, so make sure you examine in case your favourites have taken house the trophies on 29 January.