The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team was awarded the inaugural Grace Influential Positive Impact Award at a celebration held last weekend during the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Positive Impact Award from the Princess Grace Foundation USA’s Grace Influential initiative was created as a way to applaud a Formula 1 team or organisation for its tangible achievements in an ongoing commitment towards innovation and positive impact through sustainability, inclusion or philanthropic means.
These lofty aspirations were met by the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, who won the 2023 inaugural prize with the ambitious Accelerate 25 programme that pledges to recruit 25% of new team members from under-represented groups by 2025. The plan, already in effect for the last two years, has made incredible progress, increasing female team members by a quarter as well as tripling the number of people from ethnic minorities.
“At Mercedes, we believe that a more diverse and inclusive team drives greater performance on track,” said Bradley Lord, Mercedes’ Communications Director.
The top flight brand has also aligned itself using the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to guide students from marginalised groups toward careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields through partnerships with the Mulberry Schools Trust, the Stemettes, the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers, the Sutton Trust and the Business Disability Forum.
“We are delighted to be recognised as the first recipients of the Princess Grace Positive Impact Award, especially given the quality of the projects that are happening across all the F1 teams,” said Lord. “It was great to see how all the teams are using the sport’s global platform to inspire and enable opportunity.”
EXCELLENCE AMONGST ALL ENTRANTS
Though Mercedes snagged the top spot, McLaren Racing with their Racing Engage programme and Alfa Romeo with the Save the Children partnership gave them a run for their money, coming in second and third respectively. Each team received special commendations for their efforts.
“We were thrilled to see how enthusiastically the Formula 1 teams have taken up the spirit of the Grace Influential Positive Impact Award; the standard of entries has been superlative and has set the bar extremely high in this first year of the award’s existence,” said Brisa Carleton, CEO of the Princess Grace Foundation.
Celebrations continued in the Grand Prix pitlane on Saturday, when Prince Albert II of Monaco and Brisa Carleton, along with CEO of Liberty Media Greg Maffei and CEO of Formula 1 Stefano Domenicali, presented Mercedes Team Principle Toto Wolff with the winning trophy: an artistic piece by Dale Chihuly entitled Gilded Mediterranean Blue Venetian with Speckled Leaves 2022.
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Featured photo: Prince Albert with Brisa Carleton and Toto Wolff, source: Princess Grace Foundation USA