Anthony Davidson

Anthony Davidson is a British former racing driver and broadcaster, best known for his time in Formula One (2002–2008) and his later success in endurance racing, where he won the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota.

Nationality	British
Born	Anthony Denis Davidson 18 April 1979 Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England

Born in Hemel Hempstead, Davidson began karting at just eight years old, quickly winning national titles. By 1999 he was competing in junior single-seaters, claiming championships in Formula Ford and strong results in Formula Three.

Formula One Career

Davidson entered Formula One as a test driver for BAR in 2001, and made his race debut the following year when Minardi called him up to replace Alex Yoong at the 2002 Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix. Though quick — within six-tenths of teammate Mark Webber in qualifying — both races ended in spins.

He spent the following years as BAR’s trusted test and Friday driver, regularly impressing with pace and consistency. A potential 2005 Williams seat fell through, and his only race outing that year came as a stand-in for Takuma Sato at the Malaysian GP, where he retired after two laps with engine failure.

When Honda took full control of BAR, Davidson stayed on as test driver, balancing his F1 duties with commentary work for the BBC.

Super Aguri: 2007–2008

Davidson finally secured a full-time F1 drive in 2007, partnering Takuma Sato at the Honda-backed Super Aguri team. He showed flashes of promise — famously running third in Canada before hitting a groundhog — but narrowly missed out on points with a best finish of 11th.

In 2008, Super Aguri collapsed after just four races due to financial problems, leaving Davidson without a seat. He returned to Honda as a test driver, then continued in the role through the team’s transformations into Brawn GP (2009) and later Mercedes (2010–omwards), where he became a highly respected simulator and development driver.

Endurance Racing Success

With no full-time F1 opportunities, Davidson reinvented himself in endurance racing. He joined Toyota’s LMP1 programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012, partnering former F1 driver Sébastien Buemi and others.

2013 – Finished runner-up at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
2014 – Won the FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship with Buemi, the biggest title of his career.
In total, he made 40 starts in the LMP1 class, taking 13 victories.

After 2017, Davidson moved into LMP2, racing with DragonSpeed and Jota, before retiring at the end of 2021.

Broadcasting Career

Alongside racing, Davidson built a strong reputation as a broadcaster. He began commentary work with the BBC in 2009, then joined Sky Sports F1 in 2012, where he continued as a pundit and analyst. He has also lent his voice to the official F1 video game series across numerous editions, and served as lead commentator on the World Endurance Championship’s global feed.