Anthony Davidson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Davidson in 2019 | |
| Born | Anthony Denis Davidson (1979-04-18)18 April 1979 (age 45) Hemel Hempstead,Hertfordshire, England |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Years active | 2012–2021 |
| Teams | Toyota,DragonSpeed,Jota |
| Starts | 59 |
| Championships | 1 (2014) |
| Wins | 13 |
| Podiums | 31 |
| Poles | 4 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Best finish | 1st in2014(LMP1) |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Active years | 2002,2005,2007–2008 |
| Teams | Minardi,BAR,Super Aguri |
| Entries | 24 (24 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2008 Spanish Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 2003,2009–2017,2019–2021 |
| Teams | Prodrive,Aston Martin,Peugeot,Toyota,DragonSpeed,Jota |
| Best finish | 2nd(2013) |
| Class wins | 0 |
Anthony Denis Davidson (born 18 April 1979) is a British formerracing driver andbroadcaster, who competed inFormula One between2002 and2008.[a] Inendurance racing, Davidson won theFIA World Endurance Championship in2014 withToyota.
Born inHemel Hempstead, Davidson startedkarting aged eight and was soon successful in national and continental competition. He graduated tojunior formulae in 1999, winning several titles inFormula Ford andFormula Three. Davidson served as a test driver forBAR in2001 and2002, making his Formula One debut at the2002 Hungarian Grand Prix, replacingAlex Yoong atMinardi for two Grands Prix. He remained a test driver for BAR—later known asHonda—until2007, when he was signed to a full-time seat withSuper Aguri alongsideTakuma Sato. Amidst financial troubles, Super Aguri withdrew from the sport after the2008 Spanish Grand Prix, ending both Davidson and Sato's driving careers in Formula One. Following his departure, Davidson moved intosportscar racing, competing in the premierLMP1 class of theFIA World Endurance Championship from2012 to2017 withToyota, winning the series in2014 alongsideSébastien Buemi. From 40 starts in the top class of WEC, Davidson took 13 wins amongst finishing runner-up at the2013 24 Hours of Le Mans. He entered three further seasons in theLMP2 class withDragonSpeed andJota, before retiring at the end of the2021 season.
Amongst his racing career, Davidson became acommentator andpundit with theBBC in 2009, and has worked withSky Sports F1 since 2012. He also lent his voice toCodemasters'sF1 video game series, and has also served as a lead commentator on the global feed of WEC.
Born inHemel Hempstead,Hertfordshire, Davidson begankart racing in 1987, competing in variousBritish,European andNorth American championships. He won three British championships (93, 94, 95), one Italian championship and was runner-up in the Formula A European championship in 1996. In 1999, he moved tosingle seater cars, racingFormula Fords and winning the 1600 cc Kent engine class of the British Formula Ford festival that year.[1] The following season, he was runner-up in the British Formula Ford championship but did win the blue riband Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and scooped theMcLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award.[1]
In 2001, Davidson competed in the BritishFormula Three championship with theCarlin team, finishing second overall to teammateTakuma Sato. His performance improved throughout the season and he outscored Sato from June until the season's end. He also won the Formula ThreePau Grand Prix, the Spa Masters[1] and theFIA European Cup.
In late 2000, Davidson became the test driver for theBritish American Racing (BAR) Formula One team for the2001 season.[2] Thefollowing season Davidson started two races for theMinardi team, temporarily replacing regular driverAlex Yoong, who the team had decided to suspend after he had failed to qualify for three races. Minardi had originally planned to putJustin Wilson in the car, but he proved too tall.[3] Davidson's qualifying times were within 0.6s of teammateMark Webber at his two starts inHungary andBelgium, but he spun out of both events.[1]
He was not given a chance to race in2003 and remained as test driver atBAR. Race drivers wereJacques Villeneuve and Davidson's countrymanJenson Button who joined the team fromRenault. WhenTakuma Sato was promoted to the race team following the departure of Villeneuve, it presented Davidson with the opportunity to become third driver.[1] This was especially useful in2004 as BAR were able to run a third car in Friday morning testing, which became Davidson's duty. He frequently impressed with his pace,[citation needed] other teams frequently taking note of his consistent lap times for tyre degradation data,[citation needed] e.g. at Indianapolis he set the second fastest lap time in Friday practice after 19 laps.
In November 2004, BAR announced that it had failed to come to an acceptable contractual agreement with theWilliams team to allow Davidson to drive for Williams in2005 because Williams would not agree to his unconditional "repatriation" to BAR in2006.[citation needed] Given BAR's long-term contract on Davidson, his chance of securing a race seat for 2005 was therefore called into serious doubt. He was given the opportunity to fill in for an unwell Sato at the2005 Malaysian Grand Prix, but his engine expired just two laps into the event.
In 2006 Davidson resumed his role as test driver for BAR, now owned by Honda and renamedHonda Racing F1. As BAR had failed to be one of the top four constructors the previous season Honda were able to run a third car on Friday, giving Davidson a bigger role than in 2005. Having previously done some radio commentary work forBBC Radio Five Live, in 2006 he made his debut as a television commentator, standing in for the absentMartin Brundle forITV Sport at theHungarian Grand Prix, which was won by Jenson Button and the Honda team. In 2008 Davidson returned to Honda as test driver for the testing at Spain'sCircuit de Catalunya whilst Honda test driverAlexander Wurz was racing at Le Mans.[4]
On 15 November 2006,Super Aguri confirmed that Davidson would partnerTakuma Sato for the2007 Formula One season.[5] Thus, he became a regular Formula One driver for the first time.
At the2007 Canadian Grand Prix Davidson was running third when his car struck agroundhog on the straight before the pits, ultimately putting him back to 11th place and ending his bid for his first career points. At theHungarian Grand Prix Davidson's rear suspension was broken during a collision withGiancarlo Fisichella, which forced him to retire. Davidson finished the season in 23rd place having scored no points.
Amid financial problems which threatened their continued participation in Formula One, Super Aguri retained Davidson alongside teammate Sato for2008. However, on 6 May 2008 Super Aguri withdrew from the Championship leaving Davidson without a race seat.
Davidson was announced as aHonda test driver for the remainder of2008. On 5 December 2008 Honda pulled out of Formula One due to financial problems.Ross Brawn bought out the team and formedBrawn GP and Davidson signed on as a test driver. On 16 November 2009, engine suppliersMercedes-Benz bought outBrawn GP and renamed the teamMercedes GP. Davidson continued in his role as reserve and development driver.
Davidson was linked with incoming teamsVirgin andLotus for the 2010 F1 season.[6] However, Davidson did not secure a 2010 race seat in F1, and instead turned his focus to racing sports cars. In F1 he continued his long-standing relationship with the Brackley-based Mercedes F1 Team, combining duties as reserve and simulator driver in 2010 and 2011, and continuing his simulator role from 2012.
Davidson tested aChamp Car atRoad America in2002 withTeam KOOL Green, to assist the team withtraction control development. The test was arranged byHonda, Davidson's employer in Formula 1 at the time.[7]
Davidson raced for theAston Martin Racing team in the2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongsideDarren Turner andJos Verstappen. His team entered aLola-Aston Martin B09/60 in the LMP1 class, which finished 13th overall in the race. He returned in the2010 edition, driving for defending championsTeam PeugeotTotal alongsideAlexander Wurz andMarc Gené.[8] The trio warmed up for Le Mans by leading a Peugeot 1–2 in the2010 12 Hours of Sebring.[9] However, inthe Le Mans race his Peugeot car had an engine failure while leading. Following Le Mans, Davidson raced at the2010 6 Hours of Silverstone withNicolas Minassian and secured victory for Peugeot Sport. In October 2010, Davidson secured pole position atPetit Le Mans, and went on to finish second with teammatesAlex Wurz andMarc Gené.
In 2011, racing the 908 for Peugeot Sport, Davidson along with Wurz and Gené, won the6 Hours of Spa, and finished 4th at theLe Mans 24 Hours. Teaming up withSébastien Bourdais, Davidson went on to win the6 Hours of Imola, and the6 Hours of Zhuhai, victories which helped Peugeot Sport secure the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) Championship for the second year running.
With Peugeot pulling out of factory sports car competition, Davidson signed withToyota to drive itsToyota TS030 Hybrid in the2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.[10] Five hours into the race,[11] as Davidson was lapping theAF CorseFerrari 458 Italia GTC of Piergiuseppe Perazzini, the two cars collided at the end of theMulsanne Straight. The collision turned Davidson's car sideways before becoming airborne, flipping through the air, before landing back on its 3 remaining wheels before making heavy contact with the barriers.[12] Davidson got out of his car before calling for assistance; he was later transferred to hospital where he was later diagnosed with fractures to the eleventh and twelfththoracic vertebrae of his back.[13]
In2013, Davidson continued driving with Toyota for a full season and ended with third place in the drivers' championship and 2nd place at Le Mans with teammates Buemi and Sarrazin. For the2014 season he remained with the Toyota works team and drove Toyota's new car, theToyota TS040 Hybrid. During the year he won four races and finished third in the2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, and became 2014 World Endurance Drivers' Champion alongside co-driverSébastien Buemi. The following two years were less successful, yielding only two third-place finishes and championship finishes in fifth in 2015 and eighth in 2016.
The2017 FIA World Endurance Championship season showed an improvement in form, and Davidson and his co-drivers took five victories and one further podium finish for the Toyota team during the campaign. However, the performance of the Porsche team, a sixth-place finish atLe Mans, and missing the2017 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas due to "personal reasons",[14] contributed to Davidson finishing the season only third in the drivers' championship standings.
Despite his 2017 performance, Davidson was the crew member of the number 8 Toyota entry who was moved aside to allowFernando Alonso to contest the2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship. Toyota switched Davidson backward into a test and reserve role, and he did not compete in the first two races of the 'superseason', including the2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. He made his first race appearance in 2018 atSilverstone, driving in the LMP2 class for American teamDragonSpeed, where he finished fourth in class.
He has since been heard as a co-commentator on selected Grands Prix forBBC Radio 5 Live. This became permanent on 13 February 2009, when it was announced he would commentate alongsideDavid Croft for the2009 season.[15] Davidson continued in the role through2010 into2011, as theBBC decided on an unchanged lineup for its radio Formula One coverage.[16]On 7 December 2011,Sky Sports announced that Davidson would join its British team as an analyst for race weekends, and would be commentating on practice sessions from the 2012 season.[17]
He commentated alongside Croft for the2017 Hungarian Grand Prix to cover forPaul di Resta who was needed byWilliams to cover for the illFelipe Massa. Di Resta was himself covering for regular commentatorMartin Brundle who was absent through illness with the same condition that afflicted Massa.
He is also one of the lead commentators on theFIA World Endurance Championship world feed along withMartin Haven and Graham Goodwin, starting in the2022 season.[18]
In the studio for 2013 USA Grand Prix qualifying, Davidson admitted that his design was inspired byEddie Cheever's helmet. When he was in the early karting days of his career he saw the picture of Cheever's helmet and together with his father, who was a graphic designer, changed the colours from the Arizona state flag to the colours of the UK and EU flags, which he has been using for all of his career.
Davidson has been working as an advisor forCodemasters since 2009 withF1 2009, andF1 2010 which was released in September 2010. His helmet design is available to select for the user's driver in the game. He later worked with Codemasters-Birmingham onF1 2011 andF1 2012. Davidson and David Croft appeared inF1 2015,F1 2016,F1 2017,F1 2018,F1 2019,F1 2020,F1 2021,F1 22,F1 23 andF1 24 as commentators.[19]
On 11 August 2006, Davidson married his girlfriend Carrie inBanbury, Oxfordshire. The couple live inBrackley. His brother Andrew Davidson appeared inthe first series ofBig Brother in the UK. When Andrew was up for eviction in week two, housemate Darren nominated him, giving as a reason that his brother had a race the following week and he would want to leave the house to see him. Andrew was evicted that week.
He was friends growing up with the lateDan Wheldon, who competed in IndyCar.
† In addition to competing in the24 Hours of Le Mans race, Peugeot Sport only contested selected events in the 2010 and 2011 Le Mans and American Le Mans Series.
‡ As Davidson was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Carlin Motorsport | Mugen | SIL1 1 7 | SIL1 2 11 | SNE 1 8 | SNE 2 13 | DON1 1 8 | DON1 2 Ret | OUL 1 3 | OUL 2 3 | CRO 1 1 | CRO 2 12 | ROC 1 4 | ROC 2 2 | CAS 1 1 | CAS 2 1 | BRH1 1 5 | BRH1 2 19 | DON2 1 Ret | DON2 2 5 | KNO 1 2 | KNO 2 C | THR 1 2 | THR 2 1 | THR 3 1 | BRH2 1 1 | BRH2 2 3 | SIL2 1 2 | SIL2 2 2 | 2nd | 272 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | KL Minardi Asiatech | MinardiPS02 | Asiatech AT02 3.0V10 | AUS | MAL | BRA | SMR | ESP | AUT | MON | CAN | EUR | GBR | FRA | GER | HUN Ret | BEL Ret | ITA | USA | JPN | NC | 0 | ||
| 2004 | Lucky Strike BAR Honda | BAR006 | Honda RA004E 3.0V10 | AUS TD | MAL TD | BHR TD | SMR TD | ESP TD | MON TD | EUR TD | CAN TD | USA TD | FRA TD | GBR TD | GER TD | HUN TD | BEL TD | ITA TD | CHN TD | JPN TD | BRA TD | – | – | |
| 2005 | Lucky Strike BAR Honda | BAR007 | Honda RA005E 3.0V10 | AUS | MAL Ret | BHR | SMR | ESP | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | BRA | JPN | CHN | NC | 0 |
| 2006 | Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team | HondaRA106 | Honda RA806E 2.4V8 | BHR TD | MAL TD | AUS TD | SMR TD | EUR TD | ESP TD | MON TD | GBR TD | CAN TD | USA TD | FRA TD | GER TD | HUN TD | TUR TD | ITA TD | CHN TD | JPN TD | BRA TD | – | – | |
| 2007 | Super Aguri F1 Team | Super AguriSA07 | Honda RA807E 2.4V8 | AUS 16 | MAL 16 | BHR 16† | ESP 11 | MON 18 | CAN 11 | USA 11 | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | EUR 12 | HUN Ret | TUR 14 | ITA 14 | BEL 16 | JPN Ret | CHN Ret | BRA 14 | 23rd | 0 | ||
| 2008 | Super Aguri F1 Team | Super AguriSA08 | Honda RA808E 2.4V8 | AUS Ret | MAL 15 | BHR 16 | ESP Ret | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA | 22nd | 0 | |
† Did not finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Toyota Racing | LMP1 | Toyota TS030 Hybrid | Toyota 3.4 L V8 (Hybrid) | SEB | SPA | LMS Ret | SIL | SÃO | BHR | FUJ | SHA | NC | 0 | |
| 2013 | Toyota Racing | LMP1 | Toyota TS030 Hybrid | Toyota 3.4 L V8 (Hybrid) | SIL 3 | SPA 4 | LMS 2 | SÃO Ret | COA 2 | FUJ 15 | SHA Ret | BHR 1 | 3rd | 106.25 | |
| 2014 | Toyota Racing | LMP1 | Toyota TS040 Hybrid | Toyota 3.7 L V8 (Hybrid) | SIL 1 | SPA 1 | LMS 3 | COA 3 | FUJ 1 | SHA 1 | BHR 10 | SÃO 2 | 1st | 166 | |
| 2015 | Toyota Racing | LMP1 | Toyota TS040 Hybrid | Toyota 3.7 L V8 (Hybrid) | SIL 3 | SPA 8 | LMS 8 | NÜR 5 | COA 4 | FUJ 5 | SHA 6 | BHR 4 | 5th | 79 | |
| 2016 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | LMP1 | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | Toyota 2.4 L V6 (Hybrid) | SIL 16 | SPA 27 | LMS NC | NÜR 5 | MEX WD | COA 5 | FUJ 4 | SHA 3 | BHR 4 | 8th | 60 |
| 2017 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | LMP1 | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | Toyota 2.4 L V6 (Hybrid) | SIL 1 | SPA 1 | LMS 6 | NÜR 4 | MEX 3 | COA | FUJ 1 | SHA 1 | BHR 1 | 3rd | 168 |
| 2018–19 | DragonSpeed | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SPA | LMS | SIL 4 | FUJ 6 | SHA 2 | SEB 3 | SPA 1 | LMS Ret | 5th | 83 | |
| 2019–20 | Jota Sport | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SIL | FUJ DSQ | SHA 1 | BHR 2 | COA 3 | SPA 4 | LMS 2 | BHR 2 | 4th | 142 | |
| 2021 | Jota Sport | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SPA 2 | ALG 1 | MNZ Ret | LMS 4 | BHR 3 | BHR 2 | 3rd | 123 | |||
Source:[22] | |||||||||||||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Formula Ford Festival Winner 2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | FIA European Formula Three Cup /Pau Grand Prix winner 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | FIA World Endurance Champion 2014 With:Sébastien Buemi | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | McLaren Autosport BRDC Award 2000 | Succeeded by |
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