Davidson began competitive kart racing at the age of eight, winning three British karting championships in 1993, 1994, and 1995 as well as one Italian championship. He moved into single-seater racing in 1999, winning the 1600cc Kent engine class of the British Formula Ford Festival and earning the McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award in 2000, the year he also won the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.
In 2001, Davidson competed in the British Formula 3 Championship with the Carlin team, finishing second overall to his teammate Takuma Sato. Though he was outscored at the start of the season, Davidson improved consistently and outscored Sato from June until the year's end. He also won the Formula Three Pau Grand Prix, the Spa Masters, and the FIA European Cup that year — a collection of non-championship F3 prizes that underlined his growing quality. Despite the runner-up finish in British F3, Davidson's performances attracted Formula One attention and he was signed as a test driver for British American Racing before the year was out.
Davidson debuted in Formula One at the 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix, stepping in for Alex Yoong at Minardi for two races while remaining a BAR test driver. His qualifying times were within 0.6 seconds of teammate Mark Webber at both starts, though he retired from each race. He remained as BAR's test and development driver through 2005 and 2006, including a period as third-car driver during Friday testing. When Takuma Sato was promoted to the BAR race team, Davidson took on expanded duties including regular Friday outings. He was prevented from accepting a Williams race seat in 2005 by contractual obligations to BAR.
On 15 November 2006, Super Aguri confirmed Davidson would partner Sato as a full-time race driver for 2007 — his first regular Formula One seat. He achieved a career-best eleventh-place finish at the Spanish, Canadian, and United States Grands Prix in the SA07. At the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Davidson was running third when his car struck a groundhog on the straight before the pits, dropping him to eleventh. Super Aguri retained Davidson and Sato for 2008, but the team withdrew after the Spanish Grand Prix due to financial problems, ending both drivers' Formula One careers after just four races.
After Formula One, Davidson transitioned to sportscar racing. He raced for Aston Martin at the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours and then joined Peugeot Sport from 2010, winning the 2010 6 Hours of Silverstone and the 2011 6 Hours of Spa as part of an Intercontinental Le Mans Cup double alongside Alex Wurz and Marc Gené.
Davidson joined Toyota's LMP1 programme in 2012. In his debut at Le Mans that year, a collision with a GTE-class Ferrari sent his car airborne on the Mulsanne Straight; Davidson escaped but suffered fractures to his eleventh and twelfth thoracic vertebrae. He recovered to continue with Toyota, finishing third in the 2013 WEC drivers' championship and second overall at Le Mans. In 2014, driving the Toyota TS040 Hybrid, Davidson won four races and claimed the FIA World Endurance Drivers' Championship alongside Buemi. He remained with Toyota's LMP1 squad through 2017 before being moved aside to accommodate Fernando Alonso for the 2018–19 superseason. He subsequently raced in LMP2 with DragonSpeed and Jota before retiring at the end of 2021.
Davidson moved into broadcasting with the BBC from 2009, commentating alongside David Croft for BBC Radio 5 Live before joining Sky Sports F1 as an analyst from 2012. He also served as a lead commentator on the FIA World Endurance Championship global feed. Davidson has lent his voice and expertise to eleven editions of the Codemasters Formula One video game series, working as an advisor from F1 2009 and appearing as commentator from F1 2015 onwards alongside Croft.
Davidson's career spans two distinct chapters: a decade spent on the periphery of Formula One as a test driver finally rewarded with a race seat, and a transformative move to sportscar racing that produced a world championship. His 2014 WEC title with Toyota ranks among the most significant achievements by a British driver in endurance racing's modern era. His sustained broadcasting work has kept him central to Formula One and endurance racing's public profile.
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