Irritating student starts to name every racing driver (4)
I believe the answer is:
nerd
'irritating student' is the definition.
'starts to name every racing driver' is the wordplay.
'starts to' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letters of 'name every racing driver' is 'NERD'.
(Other definitions for nerd that I've seen before include "Foolish or annoying person" , "In slang, a foolish or uninteresting person" , "Boring, trivia-obsessed type" , "Boring person" , "Flag on poles; wide (headline)" .)