Anthony Davidson
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Anthony Denis Davidson (born 18 April 1979) is a British former
racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
and broadcaster, who competed in
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
between and . In endurance racing, Davidson won the
FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...
in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
with
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
. Born in
Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...
, Davidson started karting aged eight and was soon successful in national and continental competition. He graduated to junior formulae in 1999, winning several titles in
Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...
and
Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...
. Davidson served as a test driver for BAR in and , making his Formula One debut at the 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix, replacing Alex Yoong at
Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...
for two Grands Prix. He remained a test driver for BAR—later known as
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
—until , when he was signed to a full-time seat with Super Aguri alongside
Takuma Sato is a Japanese racing driver, who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 a ...
. Amidst financial troubles, Super Aguri withdrew from the sport after the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, ending both Davidson and Sato's driving careers in Formula One. Following his departure, Davidson moved into
sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...
, competing in the premier LMP1 class of the
FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...
from
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
to
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
with
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
, winning the series in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
alongside
Sébastien Buemi Sébastien Olivier Humbert Buemi (; born 31 October 1988) is a Swiss racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota and in Formula E for Envision. In formula racing, Buemi competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
. From 40 starts in the top class of WEC, Davidson took 13 wins amongst finishing runner-up at the
2013 24 Hours of Le Mans The 81st 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''81e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24-hour Endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance racing event for teams of three drivers entering Le Mans Prototype and LM GTE, Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance ...
. He entered three further seasons in the
LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...
class with DragonSpeed and Jota, before retiring at the end of the
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
season. Amongst his racing career, Davidson became a commentator and
pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...
with the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in 2009, and has worked with Sky Sports F1 since 2012. He also lent his voice to Codemasters's '' F1'' video game series, and has also served as a lead commentator on the global feed of WEC.


Driving career

Born in
Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, Davidson began
kart racing Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...
in 1987, competing in various
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
,
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an and
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n championships. He won three British championships (93, 94, 95), one Italian championship and was runner-up in the Formula A European championship in 1996. In 1999, he moved to single seater cars, racing
Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...
s and winning the 1600 cc Kent engine class of the British Formula Ford festival that year. The following season, he was runner-up in the British Formula Ford championship but did win the blue riband Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and scooped the McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award. In 2001, Davidson competed in the British
Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...
championship with the Carlin team, finishing second overall to teammate
Takuma Sato is a Japanese racing driver, who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 a ...
. His performance improved throughout the season and he outscored Sato from June until the season's end. He also won the Formula Three Pau Grand Prix, the Spa Masters and the FIA European Cup.


Formula One


BAR and Minardi

In late 2000, Davidson became the test driver for the
British American Racing British American Racing (BAR) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell Racing, Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership wit ...
(BAR) Formula One team for the season. The following season Davidson started two races for the
Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...
team, temporarily replacing regular driver Alex Yoong, who the team had decided to suspend after he had failed to qualify for three races. Minardi had originally planned to put Justin Wilson in the car, but he proved too tall. Davidson's qualifying times were within 0.6s of teammate Mark Webber at his two starts in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
and
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, but he spun out of both events. He was not given a chance to race in and remained as test driver at BAR. Race drivers were
Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...
and Davidson's countryman Jenson Button who joined the team from
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
. When
Takuma Sato is a Japanese racing driver, who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 a ...
was promoted to the race team following the departure of Villeneuve, it presented Davidson with the opportunity to become third driver. This was especially useful in as BAR were able to run a third car in Friday morning testing, which became Davidson's duty. He frequently impressed with his pace, other teams frequently taking note of his consistent lap times for tyre degradation data, e.g. at Indianapolis he set the second fastest lap time in Friday practice after 19 laps. In November 2004, BAR announced that it had failed to come to an acceptable contractual agreement with the Williams team to allow Davidson to drive for Williams in because Williams would not agree to his unconditional "repatriation" to BAR in . Given BAR's long-term contract on Davidson, his chance of securing a race seat for 2005 was therefore called into serious doubt. He was given the opportunity to fill in for an unwell Sato at the
2005 Malaysian Grand Prix The 2005 Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the 2005 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix) was a Formula One race held at Sepang on 20 March 2005. Report Background After the Australian Grand Prix, Giancarlo Fisichella led the Drivers' C ...
, but his engine expired just two laps into the event.


Honda

In 2006 Davidson resumed his role as test driver for BAR, now owned by Honda and renamed
Honda Racing F1 The Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has participated in Formula One, as an engine manufacturer and team owner, for various periods since 1964. They have been active as engine manufacturers since , producing the RA Series Hybrid power ...
. As BAR had failed to be one of the top four constructors the previous season Honda were able to run a third car on Friday, giving Davidson a bigger role than in 2005. Having previously done some radio commentary work for BBC Radio Five Live, in 2006 he made his debut as a television commentator, standing in for the absent
Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Champions ...
for
ITV Sport ITV Sport is the Broadcasting of sports events, sports department of ITV plc, which produces and presents sports programming for the ITV (TV network), ITV network and ITVX. The branding was originally introduced in 1985 as an umbrella title fo ...
at the Hungarian Grand Prix, which was won by Jenson Button and the Honda team. In 2008 Davidson returned to Honda as test driver for the testing at Spain's Circuit de Catalunya whilst Honda test driver Alexander Wurz was racing at Le Mans.


Super Aguri

On 15 November 2006, Super Aguri confirmed that Davidson would partner
Takuma Sato is a Japanese racing driver, who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 a ...
for the 2007 Formula One season. Thus, he became a regular Formula One driver for the first time. At the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix Davidson was running third when his car struck a
groundhog The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as the woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. A lowland creature of North America, it is found through much of the Easte ...
on the straight before the pits, ultimately putting him back to 11th place and ending his bid for his first career points. At the Hungarian Grand Prix Davidson's rear suspension was broken during a collision with
Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo "Giano" Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fisichella won three Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Bo ...
, which forced him to retire. Davidson finished the season in 23rd place having scored no points. Amid financial problems which threatened their continued participation in Formula One, Super Aguri retained Davidson alongside teammate Sato for . However, on 6 May 2008 Super Aguri withdrew from the Championship leaving Davidson without a race seat.


Return to Honda

Davidson was announced as a
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
test driver for the remainder of . On 5 December 2008 Honda pulled out of Formula One due to financial problems. Ross Brawn bought out the team and formed
Brawn GP Brawn GP was a Formula One constructor which competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team was formed in 2009 by a management buyout led by Ross Brawn of the Honda Racing F1 T ...
and Davidson signed on as a test driver. On 16 November 2009, engine suppliers
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
bought out
Brawn GP Brawn GP was a Formula One constructor which competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team was formed in 2009 by a management buyout led by Ross Brawn of the Honda Racing F1 T ...
and renamed the team Mercedes GP. Davidson continued in his role as reserve and development driver.


Mercedes (2010–present)

Davidson was linked with incoming teams
Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
and Lotus for the 2010 F1 season. However, Davidson did not secure a 2010 race seat in F1, and instead turned his focus to racing sports cars. In F1 he continued his long-standing relationship with the Brackley-based Mercedes F1 Team, combining duties as reserve and simulator driver in 2010 and 2011, and continuing his simulator role from 2012.


CART

Davidson tested a
Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing T ...
at
Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...
in
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
with Team KOOL Green, to assist the team with traction control development. The test was arranged by
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
, Davidson's employer in Formula 1 at the time.


Sportscars

Davidson raced for the Aston Martin Racing team in the
2009 24 Hours of Le Mans The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans () was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance racing (motorsport), endurance auto racing, auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Aut ...
, alongside
Darren Turner Darren Turner (born 13 April 1974) is a British racing driver and owner of Base Performance Simulators. He races for Aston Martin Racing as a Factory-backed, factory driver and also works as a high performance test driver for Aston Martin. He w ...
and Jos Verstappen. His team entered a Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 in the LMP1 class, which finished 13th overall in the race. He returned in the
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
edition, driving for defending champions Team Peugeot Total alongside Alexander Wurz and
Marc Gené Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams and Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory ...
. The trio warmed up for Le Mans by leading a Peugeot 1–2 in the 2010 12 Hours of Sebring. However, in the Le Mans race his Peugeot car had an engine failure while leading. Following Le Mans, Davidson raced at the 2010 6 Hours of Silverstone with
Nicolas Minassian Nicolas Minassian (Armenian language, Armenian: ; born 28 February 1973) is a French people, French professional racing driver of Armenians, Armenian descent. After finishing 2nd place in the 1993 Formula Renault Eurocup, Marseille-born Minassia ...
and secured victory for Peugeot Sport. In October 2010, Davidson secured pole position at
Petit Le Mans Petit Le Mans (French language, French for ''Little Le Mans'') is a sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States. The race has been held for a durat ...
, and went on to finish second with teammates Alex Wurz and
Marc Gené Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams and Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory ...
. In 2011, racing the 908 for Peugeot Sport, Davidson along with Wurz and Gené, won the 6 Hours of Spa, and finished 4th at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Teaming up with
Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (; born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver who currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Cadillac Hertz Team Jota in the Hypercar category. He is one of the most successful dr ...
, Davidson went on to win the 6 Hours of Imola, and the 6 Hours of Zhuhai, victories which helped Peugeot Sport secure the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) Championship for the second year running. With Peugeot pulling out of factory sports car competition, Davidson signed with
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
to drive its Toyota TS030 Hybrid in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. Five hours into the race, as Davidson was lapping the AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GTC of Piergiuseppe Perazzini, the two cars collided at the end of the
Mulsanne Straight The Mulsanne Straight (, "Straight Line of Les Hunaudières") is the name used in English for a formerly long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is interrup ...
. The collision turned Davidson's car sideways before becoming airborne, flipping through the air, before landing back on its 3 remaining wheels before making heavy contact with the barriers. Davidson got out of his car before calling for assistance; he was later transferred to hospital where he was later diagnosed with fractures to the eleventh and twelfth
thoracic vertebrae In vertebrates, thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. In humans, there are twelve thoracic vertebra (anatomy), vertebrae of intermediate size between the ce ...
of his back. In
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, Davidson continued driving with Toyota for a full season and ended with third place in the drivers' championship and 2nd place at Le Mans with teammates Buemi and Sarrazin. For the 2014 season he remained with the Toyota works team and drove Toyota's new car, the Toyota TS040 Hybrid. During the year he won four races and finished third in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, and became 2014 World Endurance Drivers' Champion alongside co-driver
Sébastien Buemi Sébastien Olivier Humbert Buemi (; born 31 October 1988) is a Swiss racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota and in Formula E for Envision. In formula racing, Buemi competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
. The following two years were less successful, yielding only two third-place finishes and championship finishes in fifth in 2015 and eighth in 2016. The
2017 FIA World Endurance Championship season The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship was the sixth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing, auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest ( ...
showed an improvement in form, and Davidson and his co-drivers took five victories and one further podium finish for the Toyota team during the campaign. However, the performance of the Porsche team, a sixth-place finish at
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
, and missing the 2017 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas due to "personal reasons", contributed to Davidson finishing the season only third in the drivers' championship standings. Despite his 2017 performance, Davidson was the crew member of the number 8 Toyota entry who was moved aside to allow
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
to contest the
2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship The 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship was the seventh season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO ...
. Toyota switched Davidson backward into a test and reserve role, and he did not compete in the first two races of the 'superseason', including the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. He made his first race appearance in 2018 at
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...
, driving in the LMP2 class for American team DragonSpeed, where he finished fourth in class.


Non-driving activities


Commentating

He has since been heard as a co-commentator on selected Grands Prix for
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...
. This became permanent on 13 February 2009, when it was announced he would commentate alongside David Croft for the season. Davidson continued in the role through into , as the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
decided on an unchanged lineup for its radio Formula One coverage. On 7 December 2011,
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
announced that Davidson would join its British team as an analyst for race weekends, and would be commentating on practice sessions from the 2012 season. He commentated alongside Croft for the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix to cover for Paul di Resta who was needed by Williams to cover for the ill
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
. Di Resta was himself covering for regular commentator
Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Champions ...
who was absent through illness with the same condition that afflicted Massa. He is also one of the lead commentators on the
FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...
world feed along with Martin Haven and Graham Goodwin, starting in the 2022 season.


Helmet

In the studio for 2013 USA Grand Prix qualifying, Davidson admitted that his design was inspired by Eddie Cheever's helmet. When he was in the early karting days of his career he saw the picture of Cheever's helmet and together with his father, who was a graphic designer, changed the colours from the Arizona state flag to the colours of the UK and EU flags, which he has been using for all of his career.


Codemasters Formula One games

Davidson has been working as an advisor for Codemasters since 2009 with '' F1 2009'', and '' F1 2010'' which was released in September 2010. His helmet design is available to select for the user's driver in the game. He later worked with Codemasters-Birmingham on '' F1 2011'' and '' F1 2012''. Davidson and David Croft appeared in '' F1 2015'', '' F1 2016, F1 2017,'' '' F1 2018'', '' F1 2019'', '' F1 2020'', '' F1 2021,'' '' F1 22'', '' F1 23'' and '' F1 24'' as commentators.


Personal life

On 11 August 2006, Davidson married his girlfriend Carrie in
Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...
, Oxfordshire. The couple live in Brackley. His brother Andrew Davidson appeared in the first series of '' Big Brother'' in the UK. When Andrew was up for eviction in week two, housemate Darren nominated him, giving as a reason that his brother had a race the following week and he would want to leave the house to see him. Andrew was evicted that week. He was friends growing up with the late
Dan Wheldon Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 Indianapol ...
, who competed in IndyCar.


Racing record


Career summary

In addition to competing in the
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
race, Peugeot Sport only contested selected events in the 2010 and 2011 Le Mans and American Le Mans Series.
As Davidson was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.


Complete British Formula Three Championship results

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


Complete Formula One results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Did not finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.


Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results


Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Anthony 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Brackley Sportspeople from Hemel Hempstead English racing drivers English Formula One drivers Minardi Formula One drivers BAR Formula One drivers Super Aguri Formula One drivers Karting World Championship drivers Formula Ford drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American Le Mans Series drivers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Motorsport announcers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers Carlin racing drivers Haywood Racing drivers Manor Motorsport drivers Aston Martin Racing drivers Peugeot Sport drivers Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers DragonSpeed drivers Jota Sport drivers Nismo drivers