The Awards, which date back to 1982, celebrate the top drivers and competition machines each year. The nominees in the six categories open to public vote in 2023 have now been revealed (below).
Autosport.com subscribers and magazine readers are able to vote for the nominee they think performed best in each category. The categories open to voting are International Racing Driver of the Year presented by Pirelli, International Competition Car of the Year, International Rally Driver of the Year, British Competition Driver of the Year, Rookie of the Year and National Driver of the Year.
To have your say on the 2023 winners, who will be revealed at the Autosport Awards on 3 December, go to awardsvoting.autosport.com.
International Racing Driver presented by Pirelli nominees
Fernando Alonso
The oldest driver on the Formula 1 grid – he made his debut a month before Oscar Piastri was born! – has still got it. The 42-year-old has been stunning for Aston Martin, four times starting from the front row, and taking seven podium finishes. Sits fifth in points, with 78% of Aston’s total.
Jake Dennis
The lanky Brit had already excelled in his first two seasons of Formula E with the Andretti team, but this year he cracked it and became electric world champion. With customer Porsche powertrains, he outdid the factory squad, with two race wins and no fewer than 11 podiums.
Alex Palou
No wonder everybody wants to sign him! The Spaniard’s maiden title as an IndyCar sophomore had rather taken people aback in 2021. This year, he matured into a driver who was almost unbeatable mid-season with Chip Ganassi Racing. Five wins went his way in total.
Max Verstappen
The Red Bull superstar has been breaking almost every record in the books on his way to a dominant third F1 crown. His tally of 16 wins from 19 grands prix is extraordinary. The Dutchman’s solo points score is over 100 clear of Mercedes, Red Bull’s closest rival in the constructors’ table!
Vote for your International Racing Driver of the Year: awardsvoting.autosport.com.
International Competition Car nominees
Ferrari 499P
Ferrari has claimed only one win from the six World Endurance Championship rounds held to date in 2023, but it was the big one: the Le Mans 24 Hours. On its debut season in the Hypercar ranks, the Prancing Horse came out on top in a thrilling battle against Toyota with the beautiful 499P.
Jaguar I-Type 6
Jake Dennis may have won the title with customer Porsche power, but the car to beat in the first season of the Gen3 Formula E era was the Jaguar. Nick Cassidy, with the customer Envision team, pipped works driver Mitch Evans to runner-up; between them they won eight of the 16 races.
Red Bull RB19
Only at the Singapore GP – round 15 – did the wheels fall off the wagon of Red Bull’s quest to win every single race in an F1 season. The RB19, again using Honda-derived power, has to date won 18 of the 19 GPs, and claimed 12 poles. It hasn’t always been out-and-out quickest but is the best all-round.
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
However hard Hyundai and the M-Sport Ford squad push, Toyota always seems a step ahead in the World Rally Championship. From the 12 rallies to have taken place so far, the Yaris has been taken to victory in eight of them by three different drivers. Another drivers’/manufacturers’ title double.
Vote for your International Competition Car of the Year: awardsvoting.autosport.com.
International Rally Driver nominees
Elfyn Evans
The Welshman is on course for his third WRC runner-up spot in four years. He’s been closer than he was in 2022 to Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera, and two victories – in Croatia and Finland – have gone his way. Has finished all but two rallies in the top five this season to stay in the mix.
Sebastien Ogier
Another part-time campaign for the French eight-time world champion, who pops in from time to time to remind everyone how brilliant he is. This season he’s contested seven WRC rounds with Toyota, and has won three of them, including the Monte Carlo and Safari.
Kalle Rovanpera
The Finnish sensation followed up becoming rallying’s youngest ever world champion by becoming its most youthful two-time title winner last month. The 23-year-old has won three times this season for Toyota, and has had another fantastic campaign to take his career wins tally to 11.
Ott Tanak
The 2019 world champion landed at the M-Sport Ford team for his one-year ‘sabbatical’ from Hyundai, and has absolutely starred. Two wins have gone his way – on the snow of Sweden and gravel of Chile – and he still has a chance to finish in the top three of the points with one rally to go.
Vote for your International Rally Driver of the Year: awardsvoting.autosport.com.
British Competition Driver nominees
James Calado
With three GTE Pro crowns under his belt for Ferrari in the World Endurance Championship, he was justly rewarded with a seat in the marque’s AF Corse-run factory squad for its Hypercar bow. Victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours is the season’s standout moment, and he is part of the trio that lies third in the points.
Lewis Hamilton
The 2022 F1 season was a difficult one for the seven-time world champion, but he has bounced back this year with Mercedes. Pole position for the Hungarian GP was a highlight, and he has finished second four times – although he only got to keep three of them. Still got the fire.
Lando Norris
The remarkable turnaround in fortunes for McLaren since the early stages of 2023 has allowed the popular Bristolian to rise to the fore. A remarkable run of six podiums in nine GPs propelled Norris to sixth in the points, with a top-four spot very much within sight.
George Russell
His maiden season with Mercedes in 2022 coincided with a downturn in the team’s form, but he still became a GP winner. This year he hasn’t come close to matching that, but is still neck-and-neck with team-mate Hamilton on qualifying stats and was third in Spain.
Vote for your British Competition Driver of the Year: awardsvoting.autosport.com.
Rookie of the Year nominees
Gabriel Bortoleto
The Brazilian was sixth in Formula Regional European last year, and for 2023 graduated to FIA F3 along with the series’ top three. He leapfrogged them all with a stunning campaign with Trident, two wins and consistent form elsewhere giving him the title.
Liam Lawson
His form as a Super Formula rookie is fabulous in itself. His title fight with superstar team-mate Tomoki Nojiri and Toyota talent Ritomo Miyata means the Japanese cognoscenti will not have been surprised by his eye-opening F1 form on his five-race AlphaTauri shift.
Oscar Piastri
Who would have guessed that the Aussie would become an F1 race winner in his rookie season? OK, so the Qatar sprint, which he won from pole, wasn’t a full-fat GP, but he has been a sensation with McLaren. He’s also taken two GP podiums, with third at Suzuka and then second in Qatar.
Logan Sargeant
The American took the fight to Piastri for the 2020 F3 title, and was pipped by one point by team-mate Lawson in F2 last year. It’s therefore a case of ‘what might be’ for him. Rookie F1 campaign with Williams, earned on merit, has been tough but he scored a maiden point at home.
Vote for your Rookie of the Year: awardsvoting.autosport.com.
National Driver nominees
Dan Harper
The BMW factory driver returned for his first full season of UK racing – in between his international commitments – since his Porsche Carrera Cup GB crown of 2019. With Century Motorsport’s M4 GT3, he snatched the British GT title at the last gasp with a brilliant comeback drive in the Donington Park finale.
Tom Ingram
He had to hand over his British Touring Car crown to Ash Sutton, but was on top form throughout the season with his Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai. Ingram scored just two race wins, but his consistent, ‘pointsy’ weekends kept the title fight against 12-time winner Sutton alive to the Brands Hatch finale.
Freddie Slater
Absolutely dominated the Ginetta Junior series in his first full season of car racing. Took 16 wins from 21 races before his 15th birthday, then upgraded his licence to compete in F4. Finished the year with strong showings in Britain and abroad, including a pole in the Euro 4 series.
Ash Sutton
Sledgehammered his way to his fourth BTCC title at the wheel of the much-improved Ford Focus from the Motorbase/Alliance squad. Many of his 12 race wins came via dominating from the front, but he also had his racecraft on display, with a 23rd-to-first charge at Silverstone.
Vote for your National Driver of the Year: awardsvoting.autosport.com.
As well as the awards voted for by fans, there are a number of awards given out by expert judging panels. The Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award is one of the most prestigious and coveted in all of motorsport as it looks to find and assist the best up-and-coming British single-seater talent.
Other awards for 2023 include the Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future Award, the Autosport Gold Medal incorporating the Gregor Grant Award for lifetime achievement, the John Bolster Trophy for technical achievement, the Pioneering and Innovation Award and Promoter of the Year. A new award for 2023 is Sponsor of the Year.
