Alex Lynn will now be eyeing a For­mula One drive with Toro Rosso for next season after clinching the GP3 crown without the need to race at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit.

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With nearest rival Dean Stone­man failing to take the pole position he required, so claiming the four points that come with it, to ensure the championship battle continued into the race proper, Lynn was able to celebrate his success.

Lynn joins fellow Briton Jolyon Palmer as a champion of one of F1’s feeder series as the latter claimed the GP2 title early last month.

As a Red Bull junior, Lynn is in the running for the vacant seat at Toro Rosso, although faces stiff competition from Carlos Sainz and, in particular, Jean-Eric Vergne.

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost released Vergne to accommo­date the arrival of 17-year-old Max Verstappen.

But when Red Bull learned of Sebastian Vettel’s departure to Fer­rari in early October that allowed them to promote Daniil Kvyat, opening the door again for Vergne.

For now, Lynn can at least savour his success as he said: “It’s so great to take the championship.

“I’m really grateful to everyone within the team, they’ve worked so hard for this all year and it’s fantas­tic to give them this reward – and also awesome for me too!

“We started the season on a high and we left no stone unturned throughout.

"It’s been a tireless effort from everyone; late nights, long days back at the workshop and pushing hard every weekend.”