F1 ® stars get behind the lens for Zoom charity auction

Formula One racing’s drivers, team principals and boss Bernie Ecclestone have joined together in their support of the 2015 annual Zoom charity auction. Held in association with Nikon, it is the third running of the event in aid of London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

Throughout a memorable and tense 2014 season, the stars of the sport were each asked to take a photograph that represented a snapshot of their world. The results - all exclusively signed by the participants - will be auctioned by Coys. during a star-studded gala evening at London’s InterContinental Park Lane on Friday 16 January.

The Zoom initiative gives fans a unique insight into the lives of those most closely involved in the sport.

All F1 drivers and team principals take part, including leading figures from Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to Adrian Newey and Christian Horner. The result is a set of stunning images, covering subjects as diverse as Jenson Button’s view of his ‘office’ to Toto Wolff’s on-the-grid selfie in Bahrain and the unusual art occupying Bernie Ecclestone’s back garden.

In addition to these original photographs, bidders will find nine Nikon COOLPIX S9700 cameras amongst the lots donated by the event sponsors Nikon, each signed by a legendary Formula One world champion including Niki Lauda, Jacques Villeneuve, Mario Andretti and Sir Jackie Stewart.

Suzi Perry will return to host this year’s Zoom auction. As the face of the BBC's Formula One coverage, Suzi is regularly pit side interviewing the biggest names in the sport and was recently praised for her work as ‘impossible to fault’. Suzi said: “I’m delighted to be back for a second year. This is an amazing event, an opportunity to buy one off pieces signed by racing heroes, whilst raising money for such a great cause.”

Christian Sylt, co-founder of Zoom, said: “Once again we would like to thank the teams and drivers, Bernie Ecclestone, the other participants and all our partners for their support. We are looking forward to building on the success of the two previous events to raise more money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity through the auction of these unique images and the cameras which Nikon has kindly donated.”

Jeremy Gilbert, Group Marketing Manager at Nikon UK, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the Zoom initiative for another year. It’s a fantastic project that both raises money for an incredibly worthy charity and opens up the world of Formula One to fans through imagery, offering an exclusive perspective of the sport with behind the scenes images.”

Olivia Jary, Head of Business Development at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity said: “We’re delighted to be working with Zoom again this year on this exciting project, which brings together our supporters in the F1 community. The money raised will make a real difference to patients and families from across the UK. We’d like to thank Zoom and the F1 community for their continued support and generosity.”