| McKenzy Cresswell | |
| Nationality: |  British |
| Birth Date: | 16 January 2006 |
| Birth Place: | Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom |
| Current Series: | GB3 Championship |
| First Year: | 2022 |
| Current Team: | Elite Motorsport |
| Car Number: | 16 |
| Former Teams: | Chris Dittman Racing |
| Starts: | 64 (66 entries) |
| Wins: | 2 |
| Podiums: | 14 |
| Poles: | 3 |
| Fastest Laps: | 3 |
| Best Finish: | 4th |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Prev Series: | F4 British Championship |
| Prev Series Years: | 2021 |
McKenzy Cresswell (born 16 January 2006) is a British racing driver currently set to compete in the GB3 Championship with Elite Motorsport. He was a substitute driver in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship with PHM Racing by Charouz. He is part of the BRDC Rising Star Programme.[1]
Cresswell began karting at seven years old at the Austin, Texas location of K1 Speed, where he competed in the Junior League events. He subsequently competed in SKUSA karting events in the United States.[2]
Upon his return to the UK, Cresswell competed with DSM-Sport in several British[3] karting events.[4]
In December 2020, Cresswell signed for JHR Developments to race in the 2021 British F4 Championship.[5] As a build up to the transition from karting, Cresswell spent time at iZone Performance[6] [7] at Silverstone. Where, in addition to practice on the simulator he worked on mindfulness training.[8]
On his debut weekend at Thruxton, Cresswell scored a best result of 2nd having claimed 3rd on the starting grid for the final race of the weekend.[9] Thruxton was followed by two 3rd place finishes at the Snetterton round[10] and a best result of 2nd in changeable conditions at the Brands Hatch Indy weekend.[11] The first victory of the season occurred in the reverse grid race in the following round at Oulton Park. Similarly at the next round at Knockhill in Scotland, Cresswell secured victory in the reverse grid. With a return to qualifying form at the Croft round Cresswell had his most successful weekend of the season; scoring a double pole, double win, leading every lap and two fastest laps.[12] At the final event of the 2021 season at Brands Hatch, Cresswell scored a double victory[13] to finish 3rd in the championship.
For 2022, Cresswell switched teams to Chris Dittmann Racing[14] to compete in the GB3 Championship.
The season started with 4th place at Oulton Park over the Easter Weekend.[15] A series of disappointing qualifying sessions was brought to an end with 6th on the grid at Spa Francorchamps, where the highlight of the season followed in race 2.[16] Despite an incident on lap 1,[17] which left Cresswell in 9th position, he recovered to finish 4th. on the road which became 3rd[18] after penalties were applied. The subsequent event at Silverstone saw Cresswell have another lap 1 incident in race 2 which resulted in the car rolling twice at Abbey curve.[19] Cresswell was uninjured but was unable to continue for the weekend and did not start race 3.
For the 2023 season, Cresswell remained in the GB3 Championship, largely due to the increase in the minimum weight of the car[20] [21] but switched teams to Elite Motorsport.[22] [23] The season started with a disastrous weekend, triggered by a mechanical failure in qualifying,[24] at Oulton Park. With only 4 points from all three races Cresswell finished the weekend last in the Championship.[25] Thereafter Cresswell rose to finally finish fourth, thanks to consistent performance and a late season podium run where he scored more points that anyone else.[26]
Cresswell opted to remain with Elite Motorsport for a third GB3 season in 2024.[27] Budget issues prevented a move into FIA F3.[28]
Cresswell was drafted in to replace Piotr Wiśnicki at PHM Racing by Charouz during the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship, for the Austrian and Silverstone rounds.[29] He achieved a best finish of 17th in his second race at Austria, which at that time lifted him ahead of teammates Wiśnicki and Roberto Faria in the standings.[30] Cresswell returned to his main GB3 campaign and was replaced by Michael Shin for the final three rounds.[31]
Although born in the UK, Cresswell moved to Austin, Texas when he was 4-years old. Returning to the UK just before his 12th birthday, Cresswell lives in Weybridge, Surrey.[7]
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | British Kart Championship - Rotax Junior | DSM-Sport | 32nd |
| IAME Winter Cup - X30 Junior | MLR | ||
| 2020 | Rotax Max Euro Winter Cup - Junior | ||
| Rotax Max Euro Trophy - Junior Max | DSM Msport | 31st |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | F4 British Championship | JHR Developments | 29 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 305 | 3rd | |
| 2022 | GB3 Championship | Chris Dittmann Racing | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 221 | 11th | |
| 2023 | GB3 Championship | Elite Motorsport | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 390 | 4th | |
| FIA Formula 3 Championship | PHM Racing by Charouz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33rd | ||
| 2024 | GB3 Championship | Elite Motorsport | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 275* | 5th* |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | nowrap | Chris Dittman Racing | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | OUL 3 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | SIL 3 | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SNE 3 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | SPA 3 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | SIL 3 | BHGP 1 | BHGP 2 | BHGP 3 | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | 11th | 221 | |
| 2023 | nowrap | Elite Motorsport | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | OUL 3 | SIL1 1 | SIL1 2 | SIL1 3 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | SPA 3 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SNE 3 | SIL2 1 | SIL2 2 | SIL2 3 | BHGP 1 | BHGP 2 | BHGP 3 | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | ZAN 3 | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | 4th | 390 | |
| 2024 | nowrap | Elite Motorsport | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | OUL 3 | SIL1 1 | SIL1 2 | SIL1 3 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | SPA 3 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | HUN 3 | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | ZAN 3 | SIL2 1 | SIL2 2 | SIL2 3 | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | BHR 1 | BHR 2 | BHR 3 | 5th* | 275* |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)