Anthony Davidson

Davidson began kart racing in 1987 at the age of eight, winning three British karting championships (1993, 1994, 1995), one Italian championship, and finishing as runner-up in the Formula A European championship in 1996. Moving into cars in 1999, he won the 1600cc Kent engine class of the British Formula Ford Festival and the following year claimed the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch outright, also taking the McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award.

In 2001, Davidson raced in the British Formula Three Championship with the Carlin team, finishing second overall to teammate Takuma Sato. He won the Formula Three Pau Grand Prix, the Spa Masters, and the FIA European Cup that season, which led directly to an approach from British American Racing (BAR) as a Formula One test driver.

Davidson joined BAR as a test driver in late 2000 and remained in that role for several years, making his Formula One race debut in 2002 at the Hungarian Grand Prix for Minardi, filling in for Alex Yoong who had been suspended after failing to qualify for three consecutive races. Davidson's qualifying times at Hungary and Belgium were within 0.6 seconds of teammate Mark Webber, though he retired from both events.

He remained as BAR's test and reserve driver through 2003, 2004, 2005, and into 2006 after Honda took ownership of the team. Throughout this period he was regarded as one of the fastest drivers outside a race seat in Formula One, his consistent pace frequently noted by rival teams observing tyre degradation data. A single substitute appearance at the 2005 Malaysian Grand Prix ended when his engine failed after two laps.

Davidson's only sustained period as a full-time Formula One driver came in 2007, when Super Aguri signed him alongside Takuma Sato. He finished a career-best eleventh 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, ultimately dropping him to eleventh. Super Aguri retained him for 2008 but withdrew from the championship after the Spanish Grand Prix in May due to financial difficulties, ending Davidson's Formula One driving career.

He subsequently served as test and simulator driver for Brawn GP and then Mercedes GP through 2011, continuing as Mercedes' simulator driver after he began competing in sportscars.

Davidson entered sportscar racing at Le Mans in 2009 with Aston Martin Racing, sharing a Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 with Darren Turner and Jos Verstappen. In 2010 he drove for Team Peugeot Total at Le Mans alongside Alexander Wurz and Marc Gené; the car was leading when its engine failed. He won the 2010 6 Hours of Silverstone with Peugeot, and in 2011 contributed to Peugeot's Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Championship title with wins at the 6 Hours of Spa, the 6 Hours of Imola, and the 6 Hours of Zhuhai.

Davidson joined Toyota's factory LMP1 programme for 2012. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year, while lapping a GTC-class Ferrari, his Toyota TS030 Hybrid was struck and became airborne before landing heavily against the barriers. Davidson was diagnosed with fractures to the eleventh and twelfth thoracic vertebrae, which required a period of recovery before he could return to racing.

He came back to full competition in 2013, finishing third in the WEC drivers' championship and second at Le Mans with Sébastien Buemi. In 2014, driving the Toyota TS040 Hybrid alongside Buemi, Davidson won four races during the season, including a third-place finish at Le Mans, and claimed the FIA World Endurance Drivers' Championship — his most significant title. The 2017 season was among his strongest on pure pace, yielding five victories, but a sixth-place finish at Le Mans and an absence from the Circuit of the Americas race left him third in the standings. For the 2018–19 WEC superseason, Toyota moved Davidson aside to accommodate Fernando Alonso in the No. 8 car; Davidson shifted to a test and reserve role.

He completed three further seasons in the LMP2 class, driving for DragonSpeed and Jota, before retiring from competition at the end of 2021.

Davidson began commentating on Formula One for BBC Radio 5 Live in 2006, initially as a stand-in. From February 2009 he became a permanent co-commentator alongside David Croft for the BBC's Radio 5 Live Formula One coverage. In December 2011 Sky Sports announced he would join as an analyst and practice session commentator from the 2012 season, a role he has maintained since. Davidson also serves as one of the lead commentators on the FIA World Endurance Championship world feed, beginning with the 2022 season alongside Martin Haven and Graham Goodwin.

He has worked as an advisor to Codemasters since 2009, lending expertise across eleven editions of the official Formula One video game series, with his voice appearing in F1 2015 through to F1 25.