Zak O'Sullivan

Zak O'Sullivan (born 6 February 2005) is a British racing driver of Irish descent who currently competes in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for Carlin.[1] He is the current champion of the GB3 Championship, and a member of the Williams Driver Academy.[2]

Zak O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan at Brands Hatch in 2021
Nationality British
Irish
via dual nationality
Born (2005-02-06) 6 February 2005
Cheltenham, United Kingdom
FIA Formula 3 Championship career
Debut season2022
Current teamCarlin
Car number26
Starts4
Best finish7th in 2022
Previous series
2021
2020
2019		GB3 Championship
F4 British Championship
Ginetta Junior Championship
Championship titles
2021GB3 Championship
Awards
2021Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award
The Jim Clark Trophy

He was awarded the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award for 2021.[3]

Career

Karting

Having taken up the sport when he was just nine years old,[4] O'Sullivan started his competitive karting career in 2014, where he won the British Super One Rookie Championship. After competing in the national Super 1 Championship in 2015 he won the MSA Kartmasters British Grand Prix, and in 2017 the Brit first raced in Europe, coming twelfth in the CIK-FIA European Championship with Ricky Flynn Motorsport. O'Sullivan remained with the team in 2018 and achieved his best international karting result by finishing second in the German Karting Championship in the junior class.[5] That same year he also made his first and only appearance in the Karting World Championship.[6]

Ginetta Junior Championship

In 2019 O'Sullivan made his car racing debut in the Ginetta Junior Championship with Douglas Motorsport.[7] He scored five podiums in the first ten races of the season, however his results improved after he made a switch to R Racing in the middle of the season.[8] O'Sullivan won two races at Snetterton and one at Thruxton, and thanks to a podium streak that lasted for nine consecutive races he finished second in the championship, which made him the highest-placed rookie.[9]

F4 British Championship

For the 2020 season the Brit moved up to the F4 British Championship, partnering Christian Mansell and Matías Zagazeta at Carlin.[10] He started the season off strongly, with a win at the season-opening round at Donington Park and two victories at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.[11][12][13] Throughout the following three rounds however, O'Sullivan was overtaken in the standings by Luke Browning, who had won all three races at Oulton Park and another two at Knockhill.[14] O'Sullivan bounced back with a run of nine consecutive podium finishes, which included four race wins as well as four second places.[15] At the final race of the season, O'Sullivan won the race and was initially crowned champion.[16] However, it turned out that, due to a red flag, only half the number of points were distributed, meaning that O'Sullivan fell behind Browning in the championship and became vice-champion, only three points behind his rival.[17]

GB3 Championship

O'Sullivan remained with Carlin for 2021, progressing to the GB3 Championship with his previous teammate Mansell and American Bryce Aron.[18] His first race win in the series came at the second race of the first round at Brands Hatch, which led to him taking an early championship lead.[19] A pair of victories from Reece Ushijima at the next round put O'Sullivan's lead under threat, but the Brit was able to get away from his championship rivals by winning the first two races of the third weekend at Donington Park, having started both from pole position.[20][21] He extended his advantage further by finishing second twice at both Spa-Francorchamps and Snetterton respectively, and would get back to winning ways in the reversed-grid race in Silverstone.[22] Another victory followed in the first race at Oulton Park, and a sixth place in race 3, one where he overtook ten of his rivals, put O'Sullivan on the cusp of winning the title.[23][24] He would go on to control the first race of the final round, thus clinching the title in dominant fashion.[25]

For his efforts, O'Sullivan was nominated for the 2021 Autosport BRDC Award, and in February 2022, received that honour ahead of Jonny Edgar, Louis Foster and Oliver Bearman.[26][27] In addition, in December 2021, the BRDC awarded O'Sullivan with the Jim Clark Trophy for winning the GB3 title.[28]

FIA Formula 3

For 2022, O'Sullivan once again reunited with Carlin to contest the FIA Formula 3 Championship.[2]

Formula One

In February 2022, it was announced O'Sullivan would join the Williams Driver Academy.[2]

Karting record

Karting career summary
Season Series Team Position
2015 LGM Series — IAME Cadet 21st
Super 1 National Championship — IAME Cadet 34th
Formula Kart Stars — Super Cadet 7th
BNL Karting Series — Rotax Micro 6th
2016 LGM Series — IAME Cadet 14th
Super 1 National Championship — IAME Cadet Fusion Motorsport 8th
ROK Cup International Final — Mini ROK 23rd
MSA Kartmasters British Grand Prix — IAME Cadet 1st
2017 WSK Champions Cup — OKJ Ricky Flynn Motorsport 8th
Trofeo delle Industrie — OKJ 28th
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 9th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ 12th
2018 WSK Champions Cup — OKJ Ricky Flynn Motorsport 4th
South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ 31st
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — OKJ 6th
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 6th
German Karting Championship — OKJ 2nd
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ 11th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ 28th

Racing record

Racing career summary
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2019 Ginetta Junior Championship Douglas Motorsport 10 0 1 1 5 591 2nd
R Racing 16 3 3 3 9
2020 F4 British Championship Carlin 26 9 3 4 18 408.5 2nd
2021 GB3 Championship Carlin 24 7 5 8 14 535 1st
2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship Carlin 4 0 0 0 0 13 11th*

* Season still in progress.

Complete F4 British Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 DC Points
2020 Carlin DON
1
4		 DON
2
1		 DON
3
3		 BHGP
1
1		 BHGP
2
Ret		 BHGP
3
1		 OUL
1
2		 OUL
2
9		 OUL
3
3		 KNO
1
4		 KNO
2
1		 KNO
3
3		 THR
1
5		 THR
2
10		 THR
3
12		 SIL
1
2		 SIL
2
1		 SIL
3
3		 CRO
1
1		 CRO
2
2		 SNE
1
2		 SNE
2
1		 SNE
3
1		 BHI
1
2		 BHI
2
4		 BHI
3
1‡		 2nd 408.5

‡ Half points were awarded for Race 3, as less than 75% of the scheduled distance was completed.

Complete GB3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2021 Carlin BRH
1
3		 BRH
2
1		 BRH
3
710		 SIL1
1
2		 SIL1
2
2		 SIL1
3
96		 DON1
1
1		 DON1
2
1		 DON1
3
Ret		 SPA
1
2		 SPA
2
2		 SPA
3
78		 SNE
1
17		 SNE
2
2		 SNE
3
23		 SIL2
1
15		 SIL2
2
4		 SIL2
3
15		 OUL
1
1		 OUL
2
Ret		 OUL
3
610		 DON2
1
1		 DON2
2
1		 DON2
3
813		 1st 535

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points
2022 Carlin BHR
SPR
6		 BHR
FEA
18		 IMO
SPR
Ret		 IMO
FEA
6		 CAT
SPR		 CAT
FEA		 SIL
SPR		 SIL
FEA		 RBR
SPR		 RBR
FEA		 HUN
SPR		 HUN
FEA		 SPA
SPR		 SPA
FEA		 ZAN
SPR		 ZAN
FEA		 MNZ
SPR		 MNZ
FEA		 11th* 13*

* Season still in progress.

References
  1. O'Donoghue, Conor (10 January 2022). "Meet the British and Irish F3 champion being compared to George Russell hoping to get into F1". The Irish Post. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  2. "British teen racer Zak O'Sullivan joins Williams Driver Academy". Formula1.com. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  3. "Zak O'Sullivan claims Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  4. "About :: Zak O'Sullivan". www.zakosullivan.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  5. "German Junior Kart Championship - OK-Junior 2018 standings | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  6. "About :: Zak O'Sullivan". www.zakosullivan.com. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  7. "Zak O'Sullivan Joins Ginetta Junior Team on Eve of Opening Weekend". Douglas Motorsport. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  8. Braine, Karl. "Zak O'Sullivan making waves in the motorsport world - Concierge Medical". conciergemedical.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  9. "2019 Review - Total Control Racing". Ginetta Junior Update. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  10. "Ginetta Junior star Zak O'Sullivan to British F4 with Carlin". Formula Scout. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  11. "O'Sullivan wins for Carlin in second British F4 race at Donington". Formula Scout. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  12. "Zak O'Sullivan wins British F4 opener at Brands Hatch". Formula Scout. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  13. "Zak O'Sullivan seals British F4 hat-trick for Carlin at Brands Hatch". Formula Scout. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  14. "O'Sullivan back on top in British F4 Knockhill reversed-grid race". Formula Scout. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  15. "O'Sullivan wins again to tie for British F4 lead into final round". Formula Scout. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  16. "Browning crowned in British F4 as O'Sullivan wins shortened final race". Formula Scout. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  17. "O'Sullivan: British F4 finale 'could have run longer' before stoppage". Formula Scout. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  18. "British F4 runner-up O'Sullivan continues with Carlin for BRDC British F3". Formula Scout. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  19. "O'Sullivan wins British F3 Brands Hatch race two, Simmons out in crash". Formula Scout. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  20. "O'Sullivan wins at Donington as penalties shake grids up". Formula Scout. 10 July 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  21. "O'Sullivan doubles up at Donington as Hitech team-mates clash". Formula Scout. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  22. "O'Sullivan wins GB3 race three at Silverstone as Faria and Bilinski collide". Formula Scout. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  23. "O'Sullivan edges closer to GB3 title with dominant Oulton win". Formula Scout. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  24. "O'Sullivan all but secures GB3 title as Bilinski wins in wet". Formula Scout. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  25. "O'Sullivan celebrates GB3 title with Donington Park win". Formula Scout. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  26. "FOUR FINALISTS SELECTED FOR 2021 ASTON MARTIN AUTOSPORT BRDC AWARD". British Racing Drivers' Club. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  27. Turner, Kevin (6 February 2022). "Zak O'Sullivan claims Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  28. "2021 BRDC ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED". British Racing Drivers' Club. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
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