Indian single-seater racer Ary Bansal has been named a BRDC Rising Star by the British Racing Drivers' Club, with the announcement made ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The 16-year-old from Bengaluru joins one of the most respected young driver development schemes in world motorsport. Bansal enters the programme off the back of a breakthrough 2025 season in which he became the first Indian driver to win the GB4 Championship. Racing for Elite Motorsport, he sealed the title at a dramatic Donington Park finale after four wins and seven further podiums across the season.
His 2025 campaign extended well beyond GB4. Bansal won the Challenge Cup in the British F4 Championship with Fortec Motorsport, took a win and two further podiums across two rounds of the F4 Saudi Arabian Championship, and finished fifth in the inaugural FIA F4 World Cup at Macau. He carried that momentum into 2026, taking two wins and a further podium in the Formula Winter Series to finish third overall. He is now contesting a full European programme with US Racing, with the Italian F4 and Euro4 Championships currently underway.
About the BRDC Rising Stars
The BRDC Rising Star scheme identifies British and Commonwealth drivers aged 16 to 24 judged capable of reaching the highest levels of the sport. Drivers are scouted from trackside and given access to the Club's Silverstone facilities, mentoring and influential membership network, with the long-term aim of earning Full Membership of the BRDC. Rising Stars represent the Club across a wide range of championships worldwide, identifiable by the scheme's distinctive blue roundel.
The programme has a proven record of producing world-class talent. Sir Lewis Hamilton counts among its former Rising Stars, and eight drivers on the current Formula 1 grid received invitations to the scheme in the earlier part of their careers. Across the BRDC's young driver programmes, the alumni roster includes 2025 Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris, Grand Prix winner George Russell, Formula E World Champions Jake Dennis and Oliver Rowland, and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Phil Hanson, alongside champions in touring cars, GT and endurance racing.
Bansal's selection places him within that pathway at a formative stage of his single-seater career, and marks further recognition of a driver carrying Indian motorsport onto the global stage.
Quote from Ary Bansal:
"To be named a BRDC Rising Star is a real honour. The list of drivers who have come through this programme speaks for itself, and to represent India within it means a great deal to me. The support and guidance the Club offers will be invaluable as I take on a full European season, and I want to make the most of every opportunity it brings."
