Red Bull.com

Scotland’s verve and enthusiasm for punching above its weight in motorsport has produced a conveyor belt of great drivers and world champions. It’s a list that Lewis Williamson is on the verge of joining.

For 2012, Lewis will compete in the World Series by Renault with the Arden team, with whom he raced in GP3 during 2011.

He acclimatised to the World Series by racing with ISR as a substitute for Daniel Ricciardo when the Australian was on F1 duty last year. Another valuable role Williamson will fulfil is driving in Red Bull’s simulator during F1 weekends, validating in the virtual world setup work done at the F1 track. It’s a task performed in the previous two years by Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, so Lewis is in good company.

Born in Dundee and living in the village of Golspie on Scotland’s North Sea coast, Williamson began karting at the age of eight and has been winning trophies ever since, including several British championships. He graduated to cars in Formula Jedi and then Formula Renault before moving into GP3 and now WSR.

In addition to the Red Bull Junior Team, Williamson is also a member of the FIA Institute’s driver academy, and in Britain the MSA’s Team UK driver programme and the BRDC’s Rising Star Programme. Clearly many people are taking a close interest in his progress.