Talented teenager Max Cornelius suffered heartbreak in his bid for the Autosport Young Guns title at Thruxton on Sunday.

A dramatic final-corner tangle in the last race of the season proved to be the decisive moment as the 16-year-old, who recently completed his GCSEs at St Laurence School in Bradford on Avon, finished four points short of the crown.

The Motaworld Racing driver had his eighth win – and the championship – in his sights as he nosed ahead of arch rival Patryk Szczerbinski for the lead but the pair made contact at Club Chicane.

The incident ended the pair's race and saw Szczerbinski snatch the title.

Although disappointed with the conclusion to his final weekend in Autosport Young Guns, Cornelius had the consolation of being the driver with the most wins over the course of the season. He also posted the fastest race lap of the weekend at Thruxton – 1min 18.356secs.

He said: "Obviously, it's really disappointing to miss out on the title this way but we've given it a really good shot since we joined the championship and to win more than half the races I started in my first car racing season is great.

"Congratulations to Patryk. We've had some close battles and it's been good fun racing with him.

"I want to thank all the guys at Motaworld for doing a great job and I also need to say a huge thank you to my family and to the fantastic sponsors who have made this season possible."

Cornelius had notched up his seventh win of the season in the opening Thruxton race, dicing hard with Szczerbinski all the way at speeds of well over 100mph.

With his first single-seater campaign now complete, Cornelius is considering a range of options for his next step on the motor racing ladder.

And, with potential opportunities to compete in Asia in Formula BMW and to undertake a test programme in the UK in Formula Renault and Formula 3, there is plenty for him to ponder.