Gasly on the importance of Make-A-Wish International's work as F1 charities raise more than £500,000 in first half of 2024

As Formula 1 reaches the halfway point in the 2024 calendar, it has been announced that since the beginning of the season more than £500,000 has been raised for its supported charities, and 300 children and students have been involved in social impact activities at races.

A huge £60,000 of that £500,000 was raised at the British Grand Prix at the beginning of July, where charities Race Against Dementia, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Make-A-Wish International and Mission 44 were all on-site.

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly, who is also a a Make-A-Wish ambassador and works closely with the charity's French affiliate, was on hand at Silverstone as the charity made the dreams of 16 critically-ill children come true at the British Grand Prix (see the video above). As well as getting to meet their F1 heroes the children got to take a tour of the paddock and watch the race from the grandstands.

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"I think this experience is priceless," said Gasly. "Their lives sometimes are pretty tough and I find it always very inspiring as these children are usually always extremely positive, going through these tough times and still staying positive. Beautiful souls, and I'm glad to see F1 is taking action to help and support and realise some of these kids' wishes."

Other highlights from the British Grand Prix weekend included:

• Rays of Sunshine, which brightens the lives of seriously ill children, enabled eight young people and their families to receive a special behind-the-scenes paddock tour.

• Great Ormond Street’s army of volunteers raised an amazing £35,000 across the race weekend and families received paddock tours.

• Race Against Dementia’s fan zone activation included a dementia bus, which allows people to experience what it feels like to live with the debilitating disease. The on-site team also raised more than £35,000 to take its total fundraising amount for the season so far to over £400,000.

• The first ever career networking event between young people from Mission 44 and the F1 Engineering Scholarship took place, which was designed to connect young people and give the students an insight into the careers available in the world of F1.

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• More than 70 people attended the Formula 1 and Mission 44 Fuelling Futures workshop on driving diversity and inclusion in motorsport at the Silverstone Museum, with representatives from across motorsport, including F1 ACADEMY, Mercedes, Ferrari, Haas, Aston Martin, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrain and McLaren Automotive, as well as organisations such as the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Association for Black and Minority Engineers, and Motorsport UK.

• More than £6,000 was raised by Formula 1 employees at the annual Summer Jam family day raffle in aid of local charity Bromley Children & Families Voluntary Sector Forum, an independent network of over 150 local voluntary groups that work with children, young people, and their families in the London Borough of Bromley.

• Ten students from the Northamptonshire Trust took part in Q&As with drivers from Williams, Haas and Ferrari. They also had a tour of the Paddock and Haas garage.

Over the 12 months since the 2023 British Grand Prix, more than £1 million has been donated by fans to vital charitable causes.

Alongside its officially supported charities, F1 works with the local promoter to deliver social impact activities at all 24 races.

This year, across the 12 Grands Prix that have already taken place around the world, 231 local children representing local communities, schools, and charities have taken part in the pre-race ceremony as a part of the Grid Kids programme, and more than 150 children and students have been involved in social impact activities at track including driver Q&As and paddock and garage tours.

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Some standout moments include:

• In Japan in April 2024, 30 children from Shining, a local Suzuka non-profit who works with schools, tested the knowledge of drivers from Haas, Aston Martin and RB with fun quizzes.

• In Miami in May, Sports Events Management students had a Q&A with representatives from Red Bull, Haas and Ferrari.

• In Austria in June, ten children from local mentoring charity, Sinbad, joined Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to try their hands at making strudel with Red Bull.

This season’s activity builds on the work done throughout 2023, which included:

• More than 50 wishes granted through Make-A-Wish to children living with critical illnesses.

• UNICEF’s Learning Passport, a digital learning programme that allows children in vulnerable areas to continue to learn online and offline, reached over seven million learners in more than 40 countries. In F1 host country Mexico, the initiative is now live in 105 schools across 10 states and has engaged more than 45,000 new learners, while in Brazil, 3,200 students are now supported through the programme, and there are plans to reach even more children with the education, knowledge and skills needed to thrive.

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• Formula 1 donated €1m to the Emilia-Romagna Region’s Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection to support communities affected by flooding in the region last year after the decision was made not to proceed with the Grand Prix.

• Through the Awabot initiative, which links young patients with the world of Formula 1 using two telepresence robots that roam the Paddock, more than 150 children suffering from illnesses or disease were connected to their F1 heroes and inspirational names from around the circuit.

Ellen Jones, Head of ESG at Formula 1, said: “Our supported charities work tirelessly year-round to make a difference in our sport and our local communities.

“At Formula 1, we’re incredibly proud to help raise awareness and funding for these causes and provide once in a lifetime experience at our Events. Thank you to our fans and the entire F1 community for getting involved and generously donating.”