ABOUT
JOSH
Full name: Joshua Mason Akinwunmi
D.O.B: 19 March 2002
Height: 1.83m
Weight: 71kg​
​Born in Birmingham and raised in East Sussex, Joshua Mason Akinwunmi is a British racing driver of mixed heritage. His mother is a third-generation Trinidadian and Grenadian of Indian descent, and his father is a first-generation Brit of Nigerian descent.
Josh's family relocated to Maresfield, East Sussex before his second birthday and Josh went on to attend Great Walstead School and Bedes School. Growing up, Josh was a keen football and rugby player, until at age 10, he underwent chest surgery to correct a congenital abnormality that temporarily prevented him from playing contact sports, and led him to turn his focus to driving simulator games.
Aged 14, Josh began racing go-karts, taking part in club racing at Buckmore Park and PF International in the Junior Max (Rotax), and selected Junior X30 classes at the end of the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Although 14 would be considered an extremely late age to start karting, Josh made steady progress winning rookie trophies before making the step into car racing.
RACING CAREER
2024
Josh competed in the Indy Car junior series, Indy NXT, in the #21 car of Abel Motorsport for the opening two rounds of the season.
2023
Josh entered the 2023 FIA Formula 2 championship mid-season, hopping into PHM Racing by Charouz machinery from the Belgian Grand Prix.
​
In October, he became a full member of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC).
2022
Josh competed for CryptoTower by Motopark in the 2022 Euroformula Open Championship. He took three wins in the 2022 season, following up a P1 finish at the Hungaroring with victories at Imola and Monza.
2021
Josh competed in the Euroformula Open Championship with Double R Racing for the 2021 season.
2020
Josh competed in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Lanan Racing for the 2020 season.
2019
2019 was Josh’s first-ever full race season. He took on the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, having bypassed the Formula 4 category of racing, and finished the season with a win at Donington, a second-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps and a third-place finish at Brands Hatch.
Josh returned to the MRF Challenge for the 2019-20 season, finishing P3 in the championship.
2018
With support from sponsors, Josh took the bold step to move up to single seater racing in the 2018 season taking part in selected races in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, winning the last race of the season at Silverstone, which started and finished behind the safety car.
Josh competed in the 2018-19 MRF Challenge.