Joseph Loake on becoming BRDC Young Driver of the Year and driving an F1 car for the first time at Silverstone

Crowned the 2023 BRDC Young Driver of the Year, Joseph Loake has spent his 2024 season competing with Rodin in FIA Formula 3. During that time, he's ticked off racing at his home Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone, and in August returned to the Home of British Motorsport to test a Formula 1 car for the first time with Aston Martin, as part of his BRDC prize. 

Throughout his career, Joseph has made waves as he climbed the ranks from karting to the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, then heading to single seaters in British F4, GB3 and, for 2024, FIA F3 on an international stage. 

Silverstone caught up with Joseph about his career so far and what it was like to drive an F1 car for the first time around one of the most iconic racing circuits in the world. 

Joseph was introduced to motorsport a little later than many drivers, having found the sport at 10 years old when he would go karting with his dad for fun. There was never any interest from his family, it was something Joseph found himself, but when someone who worked at Joseph's local karting circuit said he should try racing, he entered a small schools championship and didn't look back. 

"I loved cars and I was just really impressed by it so that was where it first started," Joseph says. "After that, it was my parents supporting me and helping me with what I wanted to do.

"That was where my love for the sport came from and since then, it's just been working from there." 

Karting was the first step on Joseph's journey to becoming a racing driver, and the second was in closed wheel racing, in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, which Joseph competed in for fun when he was 14. A successful season in Fiestas saw Joseph finish second in the championship, and it wasn't long until he was contacted about making the move to single seaters in British F4. 

At the time, Joseph wasn't fit enough to drive an F4 car. He was dedicated to making it into an F4 seat and through hard work made his British F4 debut in 2021 with JHR Developments after showing off his skills in the simulator. 

"I got a phone call from the team and after that, my eyes lit up and I realised I could drive in F4," he says. "That was the switch moment, it just made me think that I could get into F4 and prove myself, and maybe have a shot at doing something with a racing career.

"The opportunity came to me and I took it with both hands." 

Three wins later, including an iconic win at Silverstone after a difficult few races and securing P1 by fighting through the pack from P7, Joseph finished his debut single seater season in P6. He stayed in British F4 for another year with the same team and finished one place better by the end of 2022, in P5. 

2023 saw Joseph continue his partnership with JHR Developments, only this time, he moved up the ladder to the GB3 Championship. In a season where his 2024 teammate was his closest rival, Callum Voisin, Joseph finished third in the championship with four wins and four other podium finishes. 

Both British F4 and GB3 created special memories for Joseph during his early career. 

"I was low on mileage compared to everyone else in testing and then to win at the first British F4 weekend was special," he says. GB3 was the same thing; I had a problem all the way through the pre-season, so to turn up at Oulton Park and put it on pole was awesome, and then to win round one... it was pretty special." 

Silverstone is also a place where Joseph has created many special memories over the years ahead of his F1 test. 

"My first proper day on a race track was at Silverstone and  almost didn't realise how big a thing it was when I first drove the circuit," Joseph says. "In GB3, I had a race where I went from P10 to P2 which ended up being P1 after a penalty, and that was the best race I've ever done. It's always more enjoyable when you win a race from P10 than from P1." 

"Then my first British Grand Prix, I was at the Fanzone on stage and the fact that there are people there, shouting for me, trying to get my autographs, and it's just surreal." 

Last year, Joseph found himself in the top 10 for the Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award while finishing his season in GB3. Knowing he had the chance to end up as one of the four finalists, he put his head down and focused on doing the best he could on-track at the final round of the season at Brands Hatch. Soon after, he received a call from someone at the BRDC informing him he had made it through to the final stage. 

As a finalist, Joseph spent time at Silverstone driving the F2, LMP3 and GT3 cars on an assessment day alongside the other finalists: Callum Voisin, Taylor Barnard and Arvid Lindblad. 

"The two assessment days were the most difficult things I've ever done," Joseph says. "I was being assessed from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep.

"You go for a meal with the judges and they analyse how you are away from the track, how you present yourself, how you speak, but you don't feel like you're being assessed." 

During the process, Joseph saw himself as an underdog. When on-track, he felt like he was doing a good job in the wet conditions, but wasn't as good in the dry. Turned out, as he chipped away at his lap times throughout the day, he was just as quick as the other finalists. 

At the awards evening in London, with his entire family by his side, Joseph was announced as the 2023 Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year. 

"Winning was so special," he says. "It meant so much to me and my family. 

"I just remember my mum's scream that took the whole place down. It sounds cliché, but her and my dad have always been behind me and still are." 

Shortly after receiving the award, he received a phone call from Sam Waple at Rodin who asked if he was interested in an F3 seat, and together, Joseph worked with the team to create a financially viable deal for both of them. 

"Rodin helped me massively with budget," Joseph says. "They wanted me in the car and it was quite surreal that someone would want that, but they gave me the chance to show what I can do. 

In the summer break between Spa and the final F3 round in Monza came Joseph's Formula 1 test. The test was part of Joseph's BRDC Young Driver of the Year prize. 

"There isn't a word that explains how I feel about testing an F1 car," he says. "I'm in such a lucky position to have the opportunity.

"Yes, I had to work hard for it, but the fact that I've been given this chance to drive an F1 car is incredible to me and I want to make the most of it."

And, Joseph did make the most of his test day at Silverstone in August. With family and friends there to support him, Joseph turned up raring to go, despite the butterflies in his stomach, ahead of one of the most special days of his life so far. 

Beforehand, understandably, Joseph was nervous, but knew the team at Aston Martin from his seat fit and simulator days. For that one day, he had the entirety of Silverstone to himself and was going to be completing lap after lap in a Formula 1 car. 

"It was weird, having the whole of Silverstone to myself, especially with an F1 car as well," he says. "Who'd have thought I'd be driving an F1 car on my own at Silverstone? I never thought I'd do that, or do a lap of Silverstone in one minute thirty." 

"It'll always be the place I drove an F1 car for the first time, so Silverstone will always be very special to me." 

"I felt every kind of emotion that day," he says. "I was very nervous at the start of the day and then really excited because I just wanted to get into the car. Then, once you've driving the car, you're almost a bit scared, when you get used to it, you're happy, and at the end of the day, you're sad it's over. 

"I very nearly cried before I got into the car because emotions were so high and my entire family were there. The amount we've put into it, it's nice to have a little taste of what might come out of it." 

The final round of the FIA F3 season came shortly after Joseph's test day, with the field heading to Monza for the last time in 2024. Monza signified the end of a season of ups and downs for Joseph and the Rodin team. 

Since Monza, however, Joseph has been in the United States, testing with Turn 3 Motorsport who compete in the USF Pro Championship. He spent time testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Exploring potential options for next year, Joseph finished the test in P2. 

With the exciting prospects of a future in racing ahead of him, Joseph has one ultimate career goal: to be Formula 1 World Champion. That's the ultimate dream. However, it's not the only thing he's thinking of. 

"I would be content and I would be okay if I made a career out of driving," Joseph says. "If I became a paid driver, in any series.

"If I manage to make a career out of being a racing driver, that would be more than I ever would've dreamed of when I was starting out."