Top 10 Drivers of 2022: Patrick O’Donovan (10th)

Series: RX2e
Championship Position: 4^th
Wins: 2
Podium Finishes: 2 (1^st/1^st)

In his sophomore season in the FIA RX2e Championship, Patrick O’Donovan immediately underscored his front-running status in the single-spec World RX feeder series. A title bid looked to be on as he pushed eventual champion Viktor Vranckx hard through the early stages of the Höljes curtain-raiser – only for a joker miscommunication to cost him a place in the final.

Up against a driver of Vranckx’s calibre and consistency, an uncharacteristically off-colour weekend in Hell then effectively dashed O’Donovan’s hopes of clinching the coveted crown, but the young British ace continued to fight and was on inspired form to triumph in both Latvia and Belgium.

In Rīga, he held his nerve to out-muscle Isak Sjökvist through Turn One, earning him a lead that – despite coming under intense pressure – he would not subsequently relinquish. At Spa-Francorchamps, he went toe-to-toe with Vranckx and came out on top on his rival’s home turf – by the margin of just 0.150 seconds.

Had it not been for contact that ruled him out of the final in Catalunya, O’Donovan may well have finished second in the standings rather than fourth, but the end result was ultimately immaterial, as the 18-year-old had already more than made his mark...