The teenager is one of four drivers who have been nominated for the BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

The winner of the award wins $390,000 (200,000 GBP) plus an F1 test with Aston Martin.

FIA Formula 3 Championship race winner Arvid Lindblad has also been nominated alongside British F4 Championship winner Deagen Fairclough and Italian F4 Championship leader Freddie Slater.

Sharp, who won the British F4 Championship last year, currently leads the GB3 Championship with Rodin Motorsport.

Sharp has qualified for the award having been born in the United Kingdom. The 17-year-old hails from Christchurch and races under the New Zealand flag.

The award nominees will go through a series of simulations and evaluations before testing Formula 2, GT3, and LMP3 machinery at Silverstone.

The winner will be announced at the Autosport Awards in January.

“I’m obviously delighted to have been recognised by the judges for such a prestigious award – it’s very special to me,” said Sharp.

“At this stage it’s only the top four, so it’s going to be important to keep working and training hard, so I can give it my everything at Silverstone.

“I’m really looking forward the competition. I’ll be driving three cars that I haven’t driven before – in fact, I’ve never driven a competition car with a roof over my head, so the LMP3 and the GT car will be a bit of a challenge.

“There’s going to be a lot to learn and some of the finalists may have a little bit of an advantage having driven these cars before but, it’s a massive honour to be selected and I’m determined to enjoy what’s going to be a really exciting experience.

“I will go in with an open mind and give it my very best.”

Sharp concludes his GB3 title bid at Brands Hatch on September 28-29. He currently leads by 33 points.

Previous winners of the award include David Coulthard, Oliver Gavin, Dario Franchitti, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson, George Russell, and Lando Norris.