How the Award winner is chosen

How do you choose the best up-and-coming British driver? That's the question at the heart of the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award process.

From start-to-finish, the system of selection is far more refined and analytical than it has ever been. Which means the judges - BRDC president and former world sportscar champion Derek Warwick, double British Touring Car champion Jason Plato, former Award winner turned McLaren GT ace Andrew Kirkaldy, McLaren head of vehicle engineering Mark Williams, leading circuit commentator Ian Titchmarsh and Motorsport News editor Kevin Turner - have more information than ever to select the winner.

That bank of data is built up over several weeks, from fitness and simulator assessments to on-track evaluation in three racing thoroughbreds and six-on-one interviews.

SELECTING THE SIX

Contrary to popular belief, the six contenders are not decided by a public vote. When AUTOSPORT opens its email address up for nominations, they are exactly that - a chance for readers to put forward a driver for consideration.

The real decision-making process takes place at McLaren's Woking headquarters. There the judges pore over a detailed report, put together by McLaren strategist Rosie Wilson, for each nominated driver.

The first two or three names are locked in quite easily. But filing the list down from about 30 drivers to six of the best is actually a very tricky task - race winners in some fine junior categories have missed out on occasion.

Once the six is agreed upon they are contacted within the coming days, and the real work soon begins.

FITNESS AND SIMULATOR WORK

Warwick and di Resta followed the action closely © LAT

Fitness and data are two key arrows in the modern-day racing driver's quiver. Much has been made of Formula 1 becoming physically 'easier', but driving remains a serious physical challenge.

The Porsche Human Performance Centre fitness tests are a good indicator of how seriously the finalists take their racing - the two days at Silverstone do not offer enough of an insight into the physical performance levels of each driver, so Porsche's report is invaluable.

As is work done with Base Performance Simulators. Each driver gets two hours of time with a professional engineer getting a feel for the F2 machinery and - in the case of Alexander Albon and Harrison Scott - a first look at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. It reduces any disadvantage.

"The main thing is to give them a heads up and some experience driving the F2 car - which gears to use, the speeds you reach and where you brake," explains Base boss Darren Turner, who won the Award in 1996.

"They have a good idea of what the car's performance is. Hopefully it gives them that extra bit of preparation before a daunting two days, because there's a lot at stake."

THE ASSESSMENT DAYS

Now we get to the crux of the process: two days on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, removed from the outside world. There's no contacting family, driver coaches or their managers. This is all about their ability.

McLaren's 650S Spider is on hand for sighting laps, and handling the 640bhp beast is in itself a challenge - especially given that one of our finalists, George Russell, doesn't even hold a driving licence.

These exploratory runs give the drivers a chance to familiarise themselves with the finer features of the track, but it's pretty swiftly time to crank up the pressure.

The six finalists move on to old- and new-tyre runs in MotorSport Vision-prepared Formula 2 machinery. The Williams-built JPH1B has a 1.8-litre Audi engine that puts out 425bhp - given that three of our finalists have spent the season in two-litre Renault machinery, two in 185bhp BRDC F4 cars and one in a 200bhp turbocharged Formula Ford, that's more than enough to keep them on their toes.

The candidates tested McLaren's latest GT3 © LAT

Next up is McLaren's latest GT3 model, the 650S, in which factory driver Rob Bell provided the benchmark, and a DTM Mercedes C-coupe run by leading team HWA with assistance from ex-Formula 1 driver and Award winner Paul di Resta.

"The biggest thing is we're here to make them feel comfortable," explains di Resta. "It's more about them. You need to benchmark the car in a way that is sufficient for them to push."

Given this is a single-seater award, it's easy to overlook the importance of having other machinery. But it's a crucial component because the best of the best should be able to adapt and the challenge of jumping between three very different racecars cannot be overestimated.

Fortunately, the weather is playing ball, which means all the necessary GT and DTM running is completed by the time darkness falls on Monday evening.

The DTM and GT teams give detailed feedback on each driver's on-track performance and work with their engineers out of the car, then it's back to the hotel for dinner and an early night (for the finalists!).

With a day's running under their belt, the finalists arrive on Tuesday morning solely focused on more F2 running.

If the previous day's experience had them approaching the limit, this is where we see the drivers pushing to the maximum.

By the time everything is finished we've had a quartet of runs, including new-tyre qualifying simulations with the turbocharged Audi engine's overboost function activated - giving each driver a few seconds with 500bhp to play with for their final runs.

FINAL INTERVIEWS

Presentation is a key element to a professional racing driver's repertoire. With that in mind, the final stage of the Award process comes back at McLaren's Technology Centre.

Each driver is interviewed by the judging panel, with questions that cover how they got started in the sport to future plans, via their views on how the Silverstone running went. The finalists also get a guided tour of the Formula 1 team's facility.

Once all six have been seen, everything accrued over the last two months is pooled to decide the winner, who will be announced at this weekend's AUTOSPORT Awards.

A POTENTIAL SPRINGBOARD

The Formula 2 car pushes the drivers to the limit © LAT

Last year's McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner Matt Parry completed his prize Formula 1 run in October, though only time will tell if it proves the springboard to a career at the top of motorsport.

Based on how previous victors have done, there is reason for him - and this year's winner - to be confident, as it has unlocked several opportunities with the British team for many drivers down the years.

David Coulthard, the inaugural winner of the Award in 1989, tested for McLaren in late 1990 as his first step in F1. He would go on to race for the team for nine years, winning 12 races in McLaren colours.

Fellow Scot Dario Franchitti, Award winner in 1992, tested a McLaren in 1995 and declined a testing deal with the team to focus on his phenomenally successful career in the United States.

While Darren Turner, who triumphed in 1996, never raced in F1, he did test regularly for McLaren. It was a similar story for Gary Paffett, who won two years later and was also a long-time McLaren test driver. The Mercedes DTM ace parts company with the team at the end of this year thanks to its switch from Mercedes to Honda engines.

The most successful of all the Award winners is Jenson Button. He completed his McLaren prize test on November 12 1999. A few months later, he was making his grand prix debut for Williams, the first step in an illustrious career that peaked with the 2009 world championship.

Paul di Resta won the 2004 Award and after his prize test was recalled for another outing in 2008. He went on to race in F1 for three years for Force India and has had two stints as the Award's DTM benchmark.

Oliver Turvey won the Award in 2006 and remains on McLaren's books as an occasional test driver and simulator pilot.

Read all about how Matt Parry's McLaren prize test went in this week's AUTOSPORT magazine