After several weeks of waiting, Lando Norris was announced as the winner to the 2016 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award. He becomes the twenty-eighth winner of the award that has sparked the careers of Jenson Button, Dario Franchitti and Anthony Davidson.
After collecting the Club Driver of the Year Award earlier in the night, 17-year-old Norris became the youngest recipient of the MABA, after winning the Eurocup Formula Renault title with Josef Kaufmann Racing. He inherits the award from 2015 winner Will Palmer, who he beat in Formula Renault this season.
Like two of his fellow finalists, Norris has spent some of the season competing in BRDC British F3, after winning the MSA Formula title last season. On top of his Eurocup title, the young star has also seen title success in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and the Toyota Racing Series.
Norris’ achievements are made more significant considering the adversaries he beat to the title. For the first time since the awards inaugural year, there were not six nominees, with just four being selected.
The runner’s up included F4 British Championship vice-champion Sennan Fielding. The experienced 21-year-old has been racing since 2010 and has recently become a staple of the TOCA package, finishing this year just seven points behind eventual winner Max Fewtrell.
Like the winner, his fellow competitors have all raced in BRDC British F3 this season, with Ricky Collard finishing in second after a spectacular season long title battle with eventual winner Matheus Leist.
Meanwhile, third in the championship was Toby Sowery. The 20-year-old led after the second round, but fell back midway throughout the year, eventually recovering with a double win in the final round.
A full run-down of the winners from the 2016 Autosport Awards from Grosvenor House Hotel can be read by clicking here.
