Ahead of this weekend’s 2023 Autosport Awards prize-giving evening, we detail the process of selection for one the most important Awards to be presented each year: the Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future Award.
The Award has been running since 2015 as part of a joint venture between Williams Racing and Autosport and underwent a major revamp after it was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the 2023 Autosport Awards, two finalists – David Crespo and Riccardo Calzetta – will discover if they have won the chance to work with Williams Racing at an F1 test in 2024, as they begin their journeys into the fascinating world of motorsport engineering and following in the footsteps of 2022 Award winner Michael Preston.
Preston is now the chief engineer of the Williams Esports team and also works in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine and Eurocup-3 championships.
Make the selection
For the first time, entries for the 2023 Award were open to anyone currently studying an engineering degree at any university or college in the UK. Previously, candidates would only be considered for selection if they were studying at one of eight of the UK’s leading universities with a strong reputation for engineering courses.
Applications went live in January, with over 200 entries received before the entry process was closed in February.
Following an initial selection process from Williams Racing, 20 students were invited to the squad’s Grove factory to take part in an in-person assessment day involving Williams’ Esports team. The candidates were tested on teamwork, communication style, engineering understanding and the way in which they engaged with Williams staff, which included Preston and Williams Director of Esports, Steven English.
Once the list of candidates had been whittled down to 10, they were introduced to the judging panel for the final Award prize selection – Williams Racing’ Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson, Williams' DIL Team Leader Andrew Newton, Williams’ Head of Talent Acquisition Jamie Green, famed single-seater team boss Trevor Carlin, Preston and Autosport’s Grand Prix Editor Alex Kalinauckas – via a virtual meet and greet.
Impress in the virtual world
Over the next four months, the 10 candidates were given a range of tasks to complete working with the Williams Esports squad and its drivers in a series of online racing contests.
This assessment began with the finalists being introduced to various racing simulation products, which comprised the iRacing and Rennsport platforms, plus the official F1 and Assetto Corsa Competizione video games.
Source: Autosport