The stars of British and International motorsport were recognised yesterday evening at the annual Autosport Awards in London, with Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Ogier and Will Palmer amongst the big winners.
Hamilton’s third Formula 1 title-winning campaign was recognised with two awards during the glitzy ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, with him taking home the British Competition Driver and International Racing Driver award double for the second consecutive year.
The all-conquering Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid that took him to the title earned the Racing Car of the Year accolade, while Max Verstappen was awarded Rookie of the Year for his outstanding maiden F1 campaign.
In the Rallying awards, it was a clean sweep for Ogier and Volkswagen for the second year in a row. The former secured his third consecutive Rally Driver of the Year honours, while the VW Polo R WRC that took him to his third WRC title was once again named Rally Car of the Year.
The FIA World Endurance Championship was also represented on the night, with Porsche’s LMP1 programme recognised with a John Bolster Award after they won the Le Mans 24 Hours and WEC drivers and manufacturers title.
Nico Hulkenberg took home a Gregor Grant Award in recognition of him becoming the first active Formula 1 driver to win the Le Mans 24 Hours in over twenty years, with the other Gregor Grant Award going to 1980 Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones.
The big winner in the national Motorsport ranks was Palmer, who secured both the coveted McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and the British Club Driver award. Reigning BTCC champion Gordon Shedden won National Driver for a second time meanwhile, having previously won it back in 2012.
Alongside Porsche, a second John Bolster Award was given to Eddie Jordan in recognition of his F1 team’s achievements as a privateer outfit. McLaren Applied Technologies picked up the Pioneering & Innovation Award, while Oxford student Elizabeth Thompson was named the first winner of the Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future award.