Jake Hughes (born 30 May 1994) is a British racing driver and winner of the inaugural BRDC Formula 4 Championship. He has won multiple races at

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as 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 dr ...

level, and is set to compete in the

2022–23 Formula E season The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

with Neom McLaren.

Career

Karting

Hughes started his racing career in karting in 2010 at the age of sixteen, finishing eleventh in the Junior Class of the Easykart UK Championship. In 2011, he finished fifth in the Super 1 National Formula KGP Championship. He stayed in the same championship for 2012, improving to fourth in the series standings, whilst also winning the Easykart UK Championship in the Light category.

Local championships

Hughes made his

single-seaters An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have t ...

debut in 2012 at Silverstone in the

Formula Renault BARC Championship In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...

with Antel Motorsport and contested in the Rockingham round of the Formula Renault BARC Winter Series. For 2013, he decided to move in the newly created BRDC Formula 4 Championship, joining Lanan Racing to partner Daniel Headlam. He took four wins with another six podiums to clinch the championship title, beating Seb Morris by 35 points. As a reward for his title, Hughes tested a

Dallara F308 The Dallara F308 is an open-wheel formula racing car, designed, developed and built by Italian manufacturer Dallara, for Formula Three racing categories, in 2008. It was used in different Formula Three racing categories and competitions between 20 ...

for Carlin at the

Circuit Ricardo Tormo Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as ''Circuit de Valencia'' and officially named ''Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo'', is a motorsport race track located in Cheste (Valencian Community, Spain) and built in 1999. The track is ...

, which he called "one of the best experiences in islife".

Formula Renault

Hughes returned in the

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

machinery with Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup switch in 2014. He had only one podium, finishing third at Silverstone on his route to the eighth in the series standings. Also in 2014 he had part-time campaigns in

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Formula Renault Eurocup was a Formula Renault motor racing championship. Eurocup raced only on European circuits. It served as a support series to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault from 2005 to 2015. Renault Sp ...

and

Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Formula Renault 2.0 Alps was a category of Formula Renault open-wheel racing, created by the merging of the Formula Renault 2.0 Middle European Championship (formerly known as Formula Renault 2.0 Switzerland) and Formula Renault 2.0 Italia. Ov ...

. For 2015 he signed with Koiranen GP to contest full-time both in the

and

. He was victorious only in the second race at Spa and had another four podiums, finishing sixth in the championship. Though in the Alps championship he was more successful, winning races at Spa, Monza and Misano and taking the lead of the championship before the final round. However, due to two finishes outside of the podium places in that final event Hughes lost out on the title to Jack Aitken by just five points. In a podcast with Dan Ticktum six years later, Hughes revealed that he had competed in the final round with a cracked chassis, which had cost him performance throughout the weekend.

GP3 Series

Hughes graduated to the

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and th ...

in 2016, joining newcomers

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

. He earned his first GP3 victory in the sprint race at Hockenheim. At the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi, Hughes experienced a technical failure in qualifying and was forced to start from the pitlane in the feature race. Having climbed up to seventh by the end of race 1, the Brit won the second race of the weekend, which he later described as "one of isbest aceweekends". FIA GP3 Austria 2018 Nr

Hughes returned to the

for

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, after a one-year absence which he spent in the

FIA Formula 3 European Championship The FIA Formula 3 European Championship was a European Formula Three(F3) auto racing competition, organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). After one season of the FIA Formula 3 International Trophy, the FIA revived t ...

. He raced for ART Grand Prix alongside

Nikita Mazepin Nikita Dmitryevich Mazepin ( rus, Ники́та Дми́триевич Мазе́пин, p=nʲɪˈkʲitə ˈdmʲɪtrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ mɐˈzʲepʲɪn; born 2 March 1999) is a Russian professional racing driver who competes in rally raid. A for ...

and his friends Callum Ilott and Anthoine Hubert. He claimed his first and only win of the year in the second race at the

Red Bull Ring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...

and ended up eighth in the standings, whilst his teammates locked out the first three positions in the standings.

Formula 3

FIA F3 European Championship

For 2017, Hughes made the switch from the

to the

, having competed in the final round of the 2016 season. He contested the season with the Hitech GP team. He claimed his first and only win at the second race in

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

and finished the season 5th in the driver's championship.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

2019

Hughes continued in the third tier of single-seater racing, as the

rebranded to become the

FIA Formula 3 Championship The FIA Formula 3 Championship is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship and organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 ...

. Hughes joined the new HWA Racelab outfit alongside Keyvan Andres and

Bent Viscaal Bent Max Calvin Viscaal (born 18 September 1999 in Almelo) is a Dutch racing driver who is set compete in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship with Prema Racing. He last competed in the 2022 European Le Mans Series for Algarve Pro Racing. H ...

. Hughes claimed his only win of the year in a fortuitous sprint race at the

, as race leaders Robert Shwartzman and Marcus Armstrong collided on the final lap. Shwartzman crossed the line first, but was given a penalty for causing the collision, handing the win to Hughes. Hughes claimed a double podium finish at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone ...

, finishing both races in third place. Hughes scored 90 of his team's 100 points over the season, placing him seventh in the drivers' championship.

2020

Hughes was retained by HWA Racelab for the 2020 season and was joined by Ferrari junior Enzo Fittipaldi and

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inc ...

junior

Jack Doohan Jack Doohan (born 20 January 2003) is an Australian racing driver, currently serving as a reserve driver in Formula One for Alpine F1 Team, Alpine. Doohan most recently competed in the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship for Virtuosi Racing, Virtu ...

. Hughes experienced a poor start to the season, collecting only half a point from the first six races. He was on course for a top-two finish in the sprint race at the second Red Bull Ring round, but collided with Liam Lawson and suffered race-ending damage. He took his first podium of the year in the feature race at the second

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

round, followed by his first Formula 3 feature race victory in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

the following week. Hughes claimed his second win of the year at the

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

sprint race. He ended the season seventh in the championship for a second consecutive year, scoring 111.5 of his team's 138.5 points.

2021

Shortly prior to the final round of the 2020 championship, Hughes announced that he would leave the series at the end of the year, having spent five years racing at Formula 3 level. However, in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, Hughes returned to the championship at the fourth round at the

as a substitute driver, replacing the injured Kaylen Frederick at Carlin Buzz Racing. He finished the races in 16th, 17th and 13th respectively.

FIA Formula 2 Championship

2020 & 2021: Partial campaigns

On 22 September 2020 it was announced that Jake Hughes would step up to

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...

, replacing Giuliano Alesi at the BWT HWA Racelab team for the 10th round at the

Sochi Autodrom The Sochi Autodrom (russian: Сочи Автодром, Sochi Avtodrom), previously known as the Sochi International Street Circuit and the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, is a permanent race track in the settlement of Sirius next to the Black Sea r ...

. Hughes finished 12th on his feature race debut, but was eliminated from the sprint race after a first-lap collision with Guilherme Samaia. Hughes was replaced by former FIA Formula 3 competitor Théo Pourchaire for the final two rounds in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. Before the fifth round of the 2021 season, held at

, Hughes was confirmed to once again be stepping in at

HWA HWA or hwa may refer to: * Hwa, a type of traditional Korean boots * HWA (group), an American female rap group * HWA Team, a motor racing team * Hargeisa Water Agency * Heartland Wrestling Association * Hemlock woolly adelgid * Hillwood Airw ...

, this time due to an injury sustained by regular driver Jack Aitken at the

24 Hours of Spa The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their ...

. In the first race, which was plagued by retirements from numerous other drivers, Hughes managed to finish twelfth, having started from the pit lane after stalling on the formation lap. He had to retire from the second race after a collision with his teammate Alessio Deledda. In the third race of the weekend Hughes finished 13th. The following round at Sochi, Hughes went on to score his first points in Formula 2, finishing fourth in the sprint race. This also gave

their best ever race finish in the series to date.

2022

After testing with new team Van Amersfoort Racing at the post-season test at

Yas Marina Yas Island ( ar, جزيرة ياس) is an island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It occupies a total land area of . It is a popular leisure island and one of the top tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island holds the Yas Marina Circuit, w ...

, Hughes signed up with the team for the 2022 Formula 2 season, partnering Belgian Amaury Cordeel. Having started his season off with points at

, Hughes finished third in the Jeddah sprint race but was later disqualified for a technical infringement. Despite this disappointment, he would bounce back the following day, taking fourth place in the feature race. However, the following three rounds formed a points scoring drought, which was compounded by a crash during qualifying in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...

and a subsequent stall at the start of the sprint race, which he began from pole. The Briton returned to the top ten in Baku, scoring a point on Sunday, before another tenth place at his home track of

. One week later in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Hughes took a fifth place in a chaotic feature race, which would end up being his final points of the season, as Hughes would miss the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Hungarian rounds after testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

, being replaced by

David Beckmann David Alexander Beckmann (born 27 April 2000) is a German racing driver currently racing in the Formula 2 with Van Amersfoort Racing. Career Karting Beckmann began karting in 2008, collecting major karting wins in 2009, 2012 and 2014. He rema ...

. Due to growing

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, w ...

commitments, Hughes left VAR fully before the round at Spa-Francorchamps. He ended up 16th in the standings, outscoring teammate Cordeel, who had competed throughout the entire season.

Formula E

Hughes made his first

appearance during the 2019 rookie test in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrak ...

, where he partnered Jamie Chadwick at Nio Formula E Team. The following year, he would once again contest the rookie test at the same circuit, this time driving for

Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team was a German racing team that competed in Formula E. The team made its debut at the 2019 Diriyah ePrix as part of the 2019–20 season, and Mercedes concluded their involvement with the team at the end of the ...

alongside Daniel Juncadella. On 25 February 2021 it was announced that Jake Hughes would be the reserve driver for Venturi Racing in the 2020–21 Formula E World Championship. After deputising for Gary Paffett at Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team in the last rounds of the season, he was signed as the team's full-time reserve and development driver for the 2021–22 season.

2022-23 season

Having left Formula 2 at the end of August 2022, Hughes will be competing in the 2022–23 season for the Neom McLaren Formula E Team with

René Rast René Rast (born 26 October 1986 in Minden) is a German professional racing driver and the 2017, 2019 and 2020 DTM champion. He previously drove for Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler in Formula E from 2019 to 2021 before Audi left the sport at the end o ...

. During a mock race at the pre-season test in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, Hughes came out on top, which made him the first unofficial victor of a Formula E race in Gen3 machinery.

Personal life

Hughes was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and is a supporter of Aston Villa FC. He is a co-host of the H.Y.M podcast, alongside BMW factory driver Nick Yelloly and Superbike racer Alex Murley, where the three interview notable motorsport personalities, such as Seb Morris, Sheldon van der Linde,

Jordan King Jordan King (born 26 February 1994 in Warwick) is a British racing driver from Harbury, Warwickshire who last competed in the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship. He is currently a reserve and development driver for the Mahindra For ...

and Dan Ticktum.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record

Racing career summary

^† As Hughes was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete BRDC Formula 4 Championship results

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

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup results

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

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† As Hughes was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series results

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

Complete GP3 Series results

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

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

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

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Complete F3 Asian Championship results

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

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) ^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

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

Complete Formula E results

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Jake 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands English racing drivers BRDC British Formula 3 Championship drivers Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Formula Renault 2.0 Alps drivers GP3 Series drivers FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers Formula Regional European Championship drivers F3 Asian Championship drivers Strakka Racing drivers Koiranen GP drivers DAMS drivers Carlin racing drivers Hitech Grand Prix drivers ART Grand Prix drivers HWA Team drivers Van Amersfoort Racing drivers KIC Motorsport drivers Mark Burdett Motorsport drivers Formula Renault BARC drivers R-ace GP drivers Formula E drivers McLaren Racing drivers