Who are Luke’s racing inspirations?

We take a look at the drivers who have inspired Luke during his career to date

Published

06 FEB 2026

Est. reading time

4 min

Luke is preparing to take the next step in his motorsport journey — and he’ll be drawing inspiration from his racing heroes.

The 24-year-old has stepped up to become Atlassian Williams F1 Team’s Reserve Driver in 2026, alongside his new role with Kondo Racing in Super Formula.

And Williams certainly have plenty of sporting greats for Luke to try and emulate, from Nigel Mansell to Alain Prost and David Coulthard.

Coulthard in particular is a former Williams F1 Team Reserve Driver, who went on to race in almost 250 Grands Prix and — like Luke — is a Macau GP and Autosport BRDC Award winner.

But Damon Hill is the former racer that Luke is most inspired by, as he explained in a recent interview with Formula1.com.

Though the Cheshire native primarily looks up to his father and wider family, the 1996 Drivers’ Championship winner is undoubtedly a role model when it comes to motorsport.

“In terms of racing though, I’d have to say Damon Hill is my hero, I think,” Luke said.

“A while back, I heard him tell his story to me in person and I just thought it was amazing.

“I think the mental strength can't be underestimated from his side and I think to go through all of that and still come out the other side and become World Champion is inspiring.

“He had to fight the best: Michael Schumacher in his prime. Although it wasn't my era and the era that I watched the most, it was a story that I find really inspiring and I think probably relates to me the closest.

“Honestly, I just think it was the ability to get into Formula 1 at such a late age, considering the past and his history I think is just an achievement in itself, and then to continue growing and to continue progressing up the ladder at that point I think is really impressive.

“Not only that, but he was also able to do what he did in the Williams, so I think it's something that I'd like to emulate.

“Last year, I was on the track with Lewis Hamilton, with Max Verstappen, these huge, huge names.

“In fact, I remember the first FP1 of the year, Lewis Hamilton driving past me and [I was] going, ‘wow, that is a seven-time World Champion and someone that I've watched since the age of… I don't know how young, in the McLaren and then Mercedes growing up’.

“But that has helped me with my mentality of getting into the car, just to focus on myself and I believe that I can do as good a job as anyone in the right machinery and with the right preparation.

“Damon is a gentleman as well, isn't he? The way he goes about things, I guess I just like him as a person.

“I think hearing his story first-hand and knowing what happened, even if it was before I was around — he’s just an all-around good guy.”

Luke has also previously referenced Hamilton, Verstappen and Ayrton Senna as drivers that he can look up to — as far back as 2023, in fact.

Speaking to Fiaformula3.com on that occasion, the then-Hitetch Pulse-Eight driver said:

“I think you’ve got to look at the drivers from the past, the greats — look at Ayrton Senna.

“I mean even Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen, look at what they’re doing at the moment. I try to take little bits of everyone, there’s not necessarily one driver that I look up to in particular.

“I like the raw pace and aggressiveness of Max, and how he’s able to get through the pack and his overtakes are incredible.

“You look at what Hamilton’s done in terms of pure achievement, it’s incredible. How he’s managed to keep his head for that many years and stay on top of it for that long, it’s incredibly difficult and there’s a lot of mental toll on it.

““You learn a lot from watching motorsports. At the end of the day, it’s all about watching what people are doing and trying to learn from it, and then do your own spin on it, almost.

“There are multiple ways to go around the track at almost the same pace or the fastest, then you’ve got to take your own style into it and hope that it’s quick.”

You can read Luke’s full interview with Formula1.com here, if you have a free F1 Unlocked pass. Or to look back on his 2023 chat with Fiaformula3.com, click here.

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