The 15-year-old dominated the Ginetta Junior championship, winning 16 races from 21 starts before making a successful switch to single-seater racing in Formula 4.
Autosport readers have voted Slater the best National driver of the season, ahead of British Touring Car Championship stars Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram, and British GT champion Dan Harper.
Slater’s victory was announced on 3 December at the Autosport Awards at Grosvenor House on Park Lane.
"I am trying by best at the moment, trying to break some records! I was in Abu Dhabi and it was amazing to see it [F1] and it gave me even greater drive. Thank you to everyone who made this possible," Slater said, who was presented the award by 2022 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award winner Luke Browning.
BTCC drivers normally dominate the award, which is open to drivers competing in the BTCC and British GT, plus support categories and equivalent. Multiple tin-top champions Jason Plato, Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden, Colin Turkington and Sutton are all former winners.
Other previous winners include Martin Brundle, Johnny Herbert, David Coulthard, Takuma Sato and Lando Norris – who all took the prize during their junior careers on the way to F1.
Other categories decided by fan voting include International Racing Driver of the Year presented by Pirelli, British Competition Driver of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Rally Driver of the Year and International Competition Car of the Year.
Further awards, decided by expert judging panels, include the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, the Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future Award, the Autosport Gold Medal incorporating the Gregor Grant Award for lifetime legacy, the John Bolster Trophy for technical achievement, the Pioneering and Innovation Award, Moment of the Year, and Promoter of the Year. A new award for 2023 is Brand Partnership of the Year.
To find out who our other Award winners are, go to autosport.com/awards
