05 Oct 2026
A 15-year-old St Albans student has celebrated his first circuit racing win at Silverstone – just months after he made the move from sim racing into real-world motorsport.
Barnaby Brewer, who lives in St Michael’s village and attends St Albans School, discovered his natural talent for the sport following struggles with neurodiversity.
Competing in three races at the recent Fiesta Junior Championship – held at the home of British motorsport – he qualified in pole position and finished first, fifth and second, his most successful weekend to date.
He has been racing in support of the Young Minds Trust, hoping to use his own experiences with mental health struggles to ensure more young people get the support they need.
But flash back five years and it was a different story, as Barnaby faced overwhelming challenges caused by his undiagnosed neurodiversity.
Unfortunately neither his nursery school nor his primary school recognised he had displayed traits of autism and ADHD from an early age, and by the time he reached Year 5, he was emotionally and physically angry, but still lacked the support he so desperately needed.
Eventually his school introduced Barnaby and his parents to Tooled Up Education – an online evidence-based resources platform aimed at supporting parents, carers and schools with neurodiverse children – where the relief of his ADHD diagnosis brought newfound comfort and confidence in who he was.
“I know who I am and why I am. I still occasionally struggle with stress, mostly in school when surrounded by loud, confusing … but I know how to better cope and the stress itself isn’t every day anymore.
“Stress, while unpleasant, can be a good thing. It’s your body telling you that what you’re doing is too much. I’ve learned to listen to it and speak up.
“In Year Seven I moved to a mainstream school, where the head of SEND was on the leadership team and the needs of pupils like me were a standing item at every weekly staff meeting. The adjustments I needed were communicated to every staff member when I joined. In the early days, the learning support team sat in on lessons to help my teachers learn how best to help me.”
Those daily interactions led to Barnaby’s diagnosis for autism as well, which has further helped him become more comfortable with who he is.
But it was after his dad brought home a Logitech racing wheel, that something about sim racing clicked for Barnaby, as he found he was perfectly attuned to both the data and engineering information required to go faster, and also the hyperfocus needed for online competitions.
He decided to highlight his story on social media, and has now clocked up more than one million views of his videos and in excess of 13,000 followers.
“Neurodiversity is part of my social media videos, not the point of them. I’m proud of who I am and I’m not afraid to speak up. While I do get the occasional unkind comment as is inevitable with social media, I have cultivated a kind and engaged community of Sim and motorsport fans.”
Last autumn he entered scholarships for the Fiesta and Ginetta championships, which have launched many pro drivers’ careers, including F1’s Lando Norris, and was assessed for his driving ability, fitness, resilience and media skills.
Despite having never been in a real car before, he reached the final day of the Ginetta competition, and was subsequently invited to join Phoenix Sim Racing, a team for differently abled drivers, helping to raise more than £50,000 for the charity Mind in November’s Race for Mental Health sim endurance event.
The first round of the season was in April at Snetterton. Since then he has gained a tonne of experience and is now fighting comfortably in the top five on average, against many of his peers on the grid who would’ve had significant karting experience.
At Anglesey in June – which was the fourth round of the seven round championship – he took his first podium in race three. But it was at Silverstone that he secured his maiden race victory.
After just two short testing sessions on the Friday afternoon, Barnaby showed strong pace from the outset on the Saturday morning, setting the fastest lap of the session to secure his first ever pole position.
Race one delivered exactly the result he had been hoping for. A strong start saw him immediately challenge for the lead, before a close battle at the front eventually saw him break clear and begin to build a gap. A late red flag brought the race to an early finish, but Brewer had done enough to win.
Now he’s progressed to comfortably fighting at the front, and hoping to finish on a high at the final round at Oulton Park on October 17.
With confidence high, Barnaby returned on the Sunday looking to build on what had already been a standout weekend. Race two proved more challenging, as he battled at the front before a safety car period disrupted his progress and saw him finish in fifth place.
Starting the final race from fifth on the grid, Barnaby was determined to end the weekend on a high. A strong opening lap saw him move forward before he became part of a five-car battle for the lead. As the battle developed, he took the opportunity to move into second and held on to claim his second podium of the weekend.
He tried to explain how he felt afterwards: “It’s hard to put into words really. This was my most successful weekend yet, so to come away with my first ever pole position, my maiden race win and second position is pretty incredible.
“Silverstone is such a special place to race, so getting my first win there makes it even more memorable. I’ve worked really hard to improve throughout the season and it’s great to see that starting to come together.”
He explained why he is supporting YoungMinds: “As someone who has struggled a lot in the past with mental health, choosing YoungMinds as a partner charity for my first year in racing felt like a natural fit.
“I often talk about the almost therapeutic nature of sim racing and how that’s helped me, and I strongly believe that mental health has a strong place in Motorsport. The other plus is that yellow car definitely stands out!”
And what are his long-term goals?
“I’m really happy with how this season is going and the progress I’ve made since moving from sim racing into real-world racing. The goal for next year is to step up into Ginetta Juniors, which I hope will put me on the pathway towards GT racing, which is the ultimate goal for me.
“It’s a big step and one that requires the right commercial partnerships around me. We have the pathway planned for how we want to get there, and we’re now beginning to work with businesses who want to join us on that journey and build something together.”
If you’re a business that’s interested in getting involved in supporting Barnaby, email his team at attention@barnabybrewer.racing
Instagram – @payattentionbarnaby
Facebook – Barnaby Brewer
TikTok – @payattentionbarnaby
JustGiving – https://www.justgiving.com/page/payattentionbarnaby?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
Photos by James Roberts.
