National Racing Driver: Antonio Pizzonia

The Brazilian won the coveted British F3 crown by a margin of 39 points from second-placed Tomas Scheckter and took five race wins and three pole positions along the way.

Pizzonia's plans for next year remain a mystery, but the 20-year-old has been linked to a drive with the crack Petrobras Formula 3000 outfit and also possible seats across the Atlantic in Champ Cars.

When receiving his award from 1961 Formula 1 world champion Phil Hill, Pizzonia said:"I still don't know what I'm going to be doing next season. We have some options in F3000. I have some decisions to make next week. I did some testing for Benetton this year. I've learned a lot, but I still have got a lot to go."

He is the first single seater driver to take the award since Kelvin Burt in 1993. In recent years the award has been the preserve of the British Touring Car Championship and has been won by a talented array of drivers including Laurent Aiello, Alain Menu, John Cleland and Gabriele Tarquini.

For a full list of sponsors for the 2000 Autosport Awards, please click here.