| Lewis Williamson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lewis Williamson (2009) | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | (1989-11-11)11 November 1989 (age 35) Dundee,Scotland |
| GP3 Series career | |
| Debut season | 2011 |
| Current team | Bamboo Engineering |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold |
| Car number | 17 |
| Former teams | Status Grand Prix MW Arden |
| Starts | 23 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Best finish | 8th in2011 |
| Previous series | |
| 2011–12 2009–10 2008 2008 2008 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series Formula Renault UK FR2.0 Portugal Winter Series FR2.0 UK Winter Series Formula Jedi |
| Championship titles | |
| 2018 | Blancpain Endurance Pro-Am Cup |
| Awards | |
| 2010 2009 | McLaren Autosport Award BRDC Rising Star |
Lewis Williamson (born 11 November 1989) is a British racing driver.
Born inDundee, Williamson began karting at the age of eight, and spent a successful decade racing in the various classes around the United Kingdom. By the time Williamson moved into the junior formulae in 2008, he had claimed three Scottish karting championship titles at Cadet and MiniMax levels, before taking a clean sweep in 2008. The first driver to record such a feat, Williamson won the British Open, British Grand Prix Super Kart, the Scottish Open, as well as the 125 ICC Championship.[1]
After a guest drive in Formula Jedi atBrands Hatch in which he won one of the two races,[2] Williamson moved up into Formula Renault, contesting the2008 Formula Renault UK Winter Series after Highland Arena Ltd, an organisation set up by three family friends[3] helping to promote sporting talent from theScottish Highlands – where Williamson resides – leased a car fromCR Scuderia.[1] In his second race in the category atCroft, Williamson finished on the podium, taking a third-place finish behindJames Calado andHenry Surtees.[4] He added another third place in the final race atRockingham Motor Speedway,[5] finishing behind Surtees andDean Stoneman, to end up in sixth place in the championship standings, a point behind fifth-placedWilliam Buller. He also contested theEstoril round of thePortuguese Formula Renault 2.0 Winter Series, taking second and fifth-place finishes for CR Scuderia.[2]
CR Scuderia, under their new name ofCRS Racing, signed Williamson for the2009 season as part of a four-car team alongsideHarry Tincknell,Matias Laine and Joshua Scott.[6] Williamson's Winter Series campaign ruled him ineligible for the Graduates Cup for drivers aged nineteen or under. During the season, Williamson finished 17 of the 20 races, taking a third place atDonington Park[7] and a second place atBrands Hatch[8] en route to a tenth place championship finish.
Williamson moved to defending championsManor Competition for the2010 season, again as part of a four-car team withWill Stevens, Thomas Hylkema and Josh Mulholland, with Ollie Millroy replacing Mulholland during the season. In the first round of the season atThruxton, Williamson claimed the first pole position, and thus became the first driver to take pole in theBarazi-Epsilon-designed car introduced for the 2010 season.[9] Several races later atBrands Hatch, Williamson threw away a chance at his first victory, spinning out of the lead and eventually finishing seventh. The first victory came a month later atOulton Park, overtakingTom Blomqvist at the start of the first race and was never headed.
Williamson took further wins atCroft andSilverstone – a rescheduled race from Brands Hatch which Williamson had qualified on pole for – as he and Blomqvist commenced their battle for the championship along with Tamás Pál Kiss andWill Stevens. Williamson trailed Pál Kiss by 27 points and Blomqvist by 15 before theWorld Series by Renault meeting at Silverstone. Williamson won both races from pole position, to trail Blomqvist by one point on dropped scores heading into the final round at Brands Hatch.[10] In the first race, Williamson finished second, ahead of Blomqvist in third, but Blomqvist claimed fastest lap to draw level with Williamson before the final race. In the final race, Blomqvist made a better start and with team-mate Alex Lynn acting as rear gunner, Blomqvist won the championship with his second place.[11] Despite this, Williamson was nominated for theMcLaren Autosport BRDC Award due to his performances in the series.[12] On 5 December 2010, after the evaluation tests held at Silverstone, Williamson was named as the winner of the award, taking the £100,000 cash prize and aFormula One test withMcLaren.[13]
After the end of his Formula Renault campaign, Williamson took part in the post-seasonGP3 Series test inEstoril, Portugal. Driving forAtechCRS GP, Williamson set the fastest time in the afternoon session on the second and third days,[14][15] having arrived at the circuit the day before after a chance conversation with team boss David Hayle.[3][16] Williamson was eventually signed byMWArden to graduate into GP3 in February 2011.[17]
After testing forISR Racing during the final test session of 2010,[18] Williamson took part in the opening round of the2011 season for the team atMotorland Aragón, deputising for regular driverDaniel Ricciardo who was onthird driver duties forScuderia Toro Rosso at theChinese Grand Prix.[19]
Despite his recent success in Formula E cars, Williamson combines his racing with an apprenticeship at Ross-Shire Engineering, working as a fabrication engineer inMuir of Ord, a 100-mile round trip from his home inGolspie.[20]
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | MWArden | IST FEA Ret | IST SPR 20 | CAT FEA 14 | CAT SPR 9 | VAL FEA 2 | VAL SPR 6 | SIL FEA 7 | SIL SPR 1 | NÜR FEA 2 | NÜR SPR 14 | HUN FEA 6 | HUN SPR Ret | SPA FEA 9 | SPA SPR DNS | MNZ FEA 18 | MNZ SPR 10 | 8th | 31 |
| 2012 | Status Grand Prix | CAT FEA | CAT SPR | MON FEA | MON SPR | VAL FEA | VAL SPR | SIL FEA | SIL SPR | HOC FEA 13 | HOC SPR Ret | HUN FEA 10 | HUN SPR 5 | SPA FEA 8 | SPA SPR 7 | MNZ FEA 19 | MNZ SPR Ret | 17th | 11 |
| 2013 | Bamboo Engineering | CAT FEA 11 | CAT SPR 7 | VAL FEA 19 | VAL SPR 17 | SIL FEA 25† | SIL SPR 14 | NÜR FEA 4 | NÜR SPR 4 | HUN FEA 24 | HUN SPR Ret | SPA FEA 14 | SPA SPR 10 | MNZ FEA 4 | MNZ SPR 3 | YMC FEA | YMC SPR | 11th | 44 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ISR Racing | ALC 1 15 | ALC 2 20 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | MON 1 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | LEC 1 | LEC 2 | CAT 1 18 | CAT 2 Ret | 33rd | 0 |
| 2012 | Arden Caterham | ALC 1 14 | ALC 2 Ret | MON 1 13 | SPA 1 19 | SPA 2 16 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | MSC 1 | MSC 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | LEC 1 | LEC 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | 32nd | 0 |
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Strakka Racing | LMP2 | Gibson 015S | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | SIL | SPA | LMS | NÜR 4 | MEX 4 | COA Ret | FUJ 6 | SHA | BHR | 18th | 32 |
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Strakka Racing | McLaren 650S GT3 | Silver | MIS QR 19 | MIS CR 13 | BRH QR 14 | BRH CR 11 | ZOL QR 11 | ZOL CR 25 | HUN QR 25 | HUN CR Ret | NÜR QR 17 | NÜR CR 13 | 2nd | 110 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2 Seas Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | GT3 | OUL 1 5 | OUL 2 Ret | SIL 1 Ret | DON 1 2 | SNE 1 4 | SNE 2 7 | SPA 1 2 | BRH 1 4 | DON 1 9 | 4th | 114 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Pro-Am Champion 2018 With:Nick Leventis &Chris Buncombe | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | McLaren Autosport BRDC Award 2010 | Succeeded by |