Joseph Loake

Loake began karting in 2016 at the Macclesfield Kart Club, and spent most of his karting career in the NatSKA championship; joining Class 11 in 2016 following the championship win of his debut year (2015). In 2017, he moved up to Class 12 and came 4th in the championship, winning multiple races against often older and more practiced opponents. Of his early career, his most notable karting achievement was coming second in the NatSKA Class 15 Junior Rotax Championship.^[4][5][6]

Unlike other young drivers who started out in Formula 4 or Formula Ford, Loake made his car racing debut in 2019 in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, a support series for the TCR UK Touring Car Championship. The series was designed as an opportunity to launch drivers (typically aged 14–17) into their careers within circuit racing.^[7] Despite missing the opening round of the championship, Loake came second in the championship, and took a double win at Anglesey.^[6][8]

In 2020, Loake returned to BRSCC Fiesta's Junior Series, where he put in an impressive performance, winning eight of eight races, taking the championship title at Croft, the young racer won a staggering 50 points ahead of his nearest rival.^[6][8][9] At the end of the season, Loake was nominated for the Teen Racer of the Year and came 4th overall.

Loake's first taste of Formula 4 machinery was in late November 2020 at Snetterton Circuit. He made his debut with single-seaters in the 2021 F4 British Championship for JHR Developments, partnering Abbi Pulling, McKenzy Cresswell and Matthew Rees.^[8]

On his debut weekend at Thruxton Circuit, he scored no points between his first two races. Despite the rocky start, Loake drover better and he won in the rain, finishing nearly one second ahead of his teammate, McKenzy Cresswell.^[10] The second and third rounds were uneventful, as he scored inconsistent points but managed to get two fastest laps in the third race weekend at Brands Hatch. The fourth round at Oulton Park proved to be another weekend to remember for Loake, as he scored two podiums in the race weekend, taking third place in the first race and a dominant win in the final race.^[11]

After quiet a few rounds, he won the chaotic final race at Silverstone Circuit, as only 11 out of 17 cars finished the race. Loake capitalised on the misfortune of other drivers and took his third race win in the series.^[12] For the final two rounds, he retired from most of them, and only had two points finishes, a fourth place in the first race at Donington Park and a final podium in the first race at Brands Hatch. He finished the season in sixth place, with 199 points.^[9]

During the start of 2022, Loake drove for JHR Developments in the Formula 4 UAE Championship in order to gain extra mileage of the new Tatuus F4-T421.^[9][13] He entered 8 races and scored no points, finishing the championship in 27th place.

Loake was retained for the 2022 F4 British Championship at JHR Developments, with new teammates, Georgi Dimitrov and Noah Lisle.^[13] Hoping to turn over the unfortunate results of the start of the year, the young driver got to work on his pursuit of the title. Scoring two podiums in the first two rounds, and consistently scoring points throughout the season he was off to a strong start. Balanced with a podium-less third and forth round at Thruxton Circuit and Oulton Park, little points and two retirements seemed to dampen his chances at the title. Loake's luck however turned to improve improve at the familiar Croft Circuit, where he attained podium finish in the second race.

Knockhill Circuit was a notable round of his season, as in the first race he beat pole sitter and McLaren Junior Driver, Ugo Ugochukwu.^[14] Loake scored no points in the second race, but bounced back with a podium in the final race. In the next round at Snetterton Circuit, Loake claimed another win in the reversed grid format at the second race of the round.^[15]

The next two rounds at Thruxton Circuit and Silverstone Circuit were uneventful, as he scored consistent points and a fastest lap and podium in Silverstone, but the final round of Brands Hatch was the highlight of his season, getting his first two poles of the season, getting a double pole and converting them into wins, as he also got double fastest laps in his winning races.^[16] Following the strong final round of the season he finished fifth in the championship.^[17]

For the 2023 season, Loake was promoted to the GB3 Championship following his decision to stick with JHR Developments. Loake was paired with David Morales and his former teammate, Matthew Rees.^[6][17] He kicked off his debut round at Oulton Park with a hat-trick in the first round, followed by another pole in the next round, which was converted to a podium finish.

His performance continued at Silverstone Circuit where he won two bouts, and again at Spa-Francorchamps where he scored another podium. The momentum continued for the next two rounds, leading to his benchmark performance at Brands Hatch, where he scored his second hat-trick of the season, grabbing another podium the next race.

Loake achieved his final podium of the season in Circuit Zandvoort. At the final round of the season in Donington Park, Loake was tipped for the title alongside Callum Voisin and Alex Dunne.

While Loake finished the first two races with points to his name, he was forced to retire the third, religating his contention for the title; the win eventually going to his competitor Voisin. Loake ended his maiden season in 3rd place with 417 points.^[18]

In 2024, Loake was promoted to FIA Formula 3 with Rodin Motorsport. The only points finishes of the season for him were at the fourth round at Monaco, he achieved his highest finish of 5th place in the sprint race, and was 9th in the feature race. Loake finished 26th in the drivers championship with a total of eight points.^[19]

In December 2023, Loake was named as the winner of the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award for 2023, thus winning a test drive with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team.^[20] He successfully completed the test in the Aston Martin AMR22 in August 2024 at Silverstone Circuit.^[21]

* Season still in progress.

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

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

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

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

• Joseph Loake career summary at DriverDB.com
• Joseph Loake official website
• Official website