Joe Tandy, winner of the closest ever Formula Palmer Audi Championship, has scooped a nomination for one of the most coveted titles in British motorsport – the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.

Past winners of the Young Driver Award include Formula One stars David Coulthard and Jenson Button, A1 Grand Prix driver Ralph Firman, Indy Racing League driver Dario Franchitti and new DTM champion Gary Paffett. For any young racer, just being nominated for the award is a great achievement in itself.

Tandy will face competition from Formula Renault UK champion Oliver Jarvis; Formula Renault UK third-place finisher James Jakes; Formula BMW UK vice-champion Sam Bird; Formula Ford Festival winner Duncan Tappy and US Formula Ford 2000 vice-champion Joey Foster.

The six finalists were picked by an expert panel of judges consisting of McLaren's Head of Race Engineering Steve Hallam; Autosport national editor-at-large Marcus Pye; BRDC Secretary Roger Lane-Nott; previous Award winner Andrew Kirkaldy, the reigning British GT champion; West Surrey Racing boss Dick Bennetts and MotorSport Vision Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer.

“It’s an enormous honour to be picked for an award like this – to have the chance to win the award that’s been won by people like Jenson Button and Dario Franchitti is amazing,” said a delighted Tandy on hearing of his nomination. “It certainly shows that some pretty high-up people are keeping a close eye on FPA, and I’m honoured to be part of the award this year.

“At the start of the season I didn’t know whether I’d be doing one race, half a season or the whole thing. So to come out not only with the championship title but also this finalist’s place is almost unbelievable.”

Tandy became the 2005 Formula Palmer Audi champion after a season-long battle with David Epton. The duo finished the year tied on points, but Tandy won by having won six times, compared to Epton’s four. Tandy follows in the footsteps of 2004 FPA champion Jonathan Kennard, who was short listed for the Award last year.

“I went into FPA to try and gain some experience in single-seaters and also to prove to myself that I was really good enough,” said Tandy. “After the first meeting I knew I just had to get to the end of the year somehow – I just didn’t know how at the time!

“FPA has been awesome this year. The support from the team and everyone involved has been fantastic. The series caters for everyone from those who have little experience like me to the more career-minded drivers, and for me it’s been a real confidence booster.”

The finalists will go through several tests at Snetterton in Norfolk later this year, when they will drive four very different types of racing car. DTM squad Persson Motorsport has provided a 450bhp DTM Mercedes C-Class car for the test, while the six drivers will also get to try out Matt Neal's British Touring Car Championship-winning Halfords Honda Integra R - and get the benefit of advice from Neal and Team Dynamics on the day. A Caterham sportscar will provide another challenge and, most impressively of all, the finalists will also drive an awesome 450bhp, V6 World Series by Renault single-seater provided by the DAMS team.

Tandy and his contenders will not just be judged on speed around the 1.9-mile Snetterton circuit, but will also be scored on technical feedback, ability to adapt to the different racing cars and an individual interview with the panel.

“I’m optimistic about the Award,” said the 22-year-old. “On the same day and in the same cars, I think I can outdrive anyone. I may not have the experience of some of the other finalists but I’ll give it my best shot.”

The winner will be announced at the prestigious Autosport Awards at Grosvenor House in London on 4 December, and will receive a cheque for £50,000 and a test in a McLaren Formula One car.