Paul Warwick's death left a large gap in British driving talent, for had the Gods of motor racing not been so unkind, he would undoubtedly have gone on to greater things - the first of a new generation of British racing drivers. Under the guidance of his brother and mature far beyond his years, Paul's kindness, quiet determination, objectivity and honest common sense set him well apart from his immediate contemporaries. His shining talent and gentle personality had combined to form something extraordinary.

Yet just like the rest of us, Paul was an ordinary human being and sadly, all too mortal. It is desperately tragic that Paul was fated to die so young. Something irreplaceable was lost to us all on that one day in July, though somehow, the memories will still live on in others.

Extract from "Window on a Lost Dream"

Paul Warwick's death at Oulton Park has left the motor racing world stunned and desperately saddened.

Fate can be terribly cruel. While death is never acceptable, the sense of loss is multiplied by the taking of a young man in the prime of life. Paul, at 22, had just started to achieve the results his talent deserved. His future was at the very top.

Bravely trying to speak through inestimable grief about a brother to whom he was devoted, Derek Warwick said: "He was just my whole life. We all loved him. He gave his all and he had enormous talent. The way he could open up gaps in the early laps of races was proof of that. I can't begin to describe our feelings. Paul was a fantastic son and brother and a great racing driver. His death is a tragic waste."

Nigel Mansell, chairman of the Mansell Madgwick team for which Paul drove said: "I'm totally devastated. My thoughts and feelings are with Paul's family."

Robert Synge, founder and operations director of the team, paid Paul a sincere tribute: "he was the most talented driver that we have had in our team over the past five years. He had all the ability to become a top-line Grand Prix driver; not only was he an outstanding qualifier and an intelligent and aggressive race driver but he was a tremendous pleasure to work with. He captured the respect, admiration and love of the entire team. His family ensured that he could never become big-headed and it is a tragedy that the accident happened at a time when his career prospects could not have been better. He will be greatly missed and we hope that his record of five consecutive wins in the British F3000 Championship will stand for some time as a memory to a very brave and very talented young driver.

The Warwick family are racing fanatics with father Derry, Derek and Paul himself all from stock car backgrounds. They are renowned for their feet on the ground approach to the sport. In an arena where rampant egos often roam unchecked, speaking to a Warwick was an instant sanity fix. From a journalist's viewpoint, Paul was a pleasure to deal with. He told it like it was, straightforward and simple.

Derek felt that Paul's reserved nature sometimes meant that he was not fully appreciated. While it was true that Paul was never going to be one of those tiresome people who think the sound of their voice is music to everyone's ears, he was not afraid to speak his mind, often with a touch of humor. And what he had to say was always worth listening to, imbued with a healthy dose of pure common sense.

Paul began racing Ministox at the age of 12 and moved onto circuit racing as soon as he was old enough to possess a driving licence. In his first season of Formula Ford 1600 in 1986, he won eight of the 12 Dunlop-AUTOSPORT Star of Tomorrow rounds on his way to the title and scored a fine championship double by claiming the Townsend Thoresen Junior FF1600 series.

In 1987, Paul moved up to Formula Ford 2000 and his speed and consistency made him Euroseries runner-up to current Dallara Grand Prix driver JJ Lehto.

Highly regarded, and with support from Camel, Warwick moved into Formula 3 with defending champions Eddie Jordan Racing in 1988. Although immediately quick, Paul was disappointed with his results and suffered another frustrating year in 1989 when he joined the Intersport team with Cellnet support.

Warwick gave F3 a final shot in 1990 but without exactly the right equipment package, it is difficult to achieve success in the power restricted category. Paul sought an opportunity to gain experience in F3000 and took the opportunity of completing the International Championship in the unloved Leyton House 90B. Showing typical determination and bravery, Paul deeply impressed the team with his application, and showed that he was totally at home with the extra power.

This year, he joined defending British F3000 Champions Mansell Madgwick. The plan was to win the British series before making an assault on Europe in '92. The undoubted class of the field, Paul remained unbeaten until the moment he died, claiming the Gold Cup posthumously.

All that AUTOSPORT can do is to send the sincerest condolences to Derry, mother Beattie, Derek, sisters Linda, Julie and Delia and all of Paul's many friends. His funeral takes place tomorrow (Friday July 26) at 12 noon in St John the Baptist Church, Alresford, Hampshire. All are welcome.

This obituary of Paul Warwick was taken from the Autosport issue published on the 25th July 1991.