Trackside’s Keith Collantine looks at three of the most likely names to join Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button as F1's British stars.

View our EXCLUSIVE gallery of Britain’s future motor racing stars

Oliver Turvey

Lewis Hamilton famously grabbed the attention of McLaren F1 team boss Ron Dennis while getting started in karts.

But not every budding motor sports star is lucky enough to earn that kind of patronage. Many British youngsters with the talent to go far in motor sport find they simply cannot afford to compete with better-funded rivals from other countries.

Oliver Turvey has gained the support of a new initiative to promote talented British racing drivers. The Racing Steps Foundation has paid for him to compete in the closely-fought British Formula Three championship this year.

Turvey heads into this weekend’s season finale leading the title race ahead of team mates Brendon Hartley and Jaime Algersuari. He won the first race of the year at Oulton Park in Cheshire but hit a rich vein of form late in the season, winning three of the last six races.

The British F3 title is decided at Donington Park in Leicestershire this weekend. Donington is the future home of the British Grand Prix. Will Turvey be returning there as an F1 driver in years to come?

Paul di Resta

Lewis Hamilton won the European F3 championship in 2005. The following year his place at the crack ASM squad was taken by Scotsman Paul di Resta.

Di Resta claimed the title, beating team mate Sebastian Vettel. Vettel made his F1 debut last year and scored his first Grand Prix victory in Italy last month.

Meanwhile di Resta switched from racing single-seaters to tin-tops, joining the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) with Mercedes. He is in the hunt for the title after finishing second in yesterday’s race at Le Mans.

When I spoke to him earlier this year he said he was still committed to reaching F1 and pointed out his DTM car is much closer to F1 performance than a regular touring car.

His Formula 1 ambitions may yet come true. His Mercedes backing has linked him to a potential testing role at McLaren, and there are rumours he will switch to F1’s main feeder series, GP2, next year.

In the meantime there’s a title to be won: di Resta is two points behind Audi rival Timo Scheider ahead of the final round of the DTM.

Sam Bird

Sam Bird is another F3 driver who has impressed, and has already tested an F1 car with the Oxfordshire-based Williams team.

After a strong maiden season in British F3 last year Bird shunned the ‘easy’ option of a second year in the same series and moved to the European championship. Despite having to master different circuits and different tyres, Bird has had a solid season.

Like Turvey and di Resta, the next step for Bird is crucial. F1 teams follow the GP2 championship keenly to scout for new talent, and a strong performance in that category is likely to bring with it the attention of an F1 team.

View our EXCLUSIVE gallery of Britain’s future motor racing stars