F1 Party Raises 450,000 Pounds for Charity

As a helping hand for the London hospital’s new heart and lung centre, the Formula One party held on Wednesday, June 17, managed to raise 450,000 pounds, a big step closer to the 2 million pound total needed.

The party, planned by Tamara Ecclestone among others, and hosted by satirist and F1 fan Rory Brenner, was held in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.

The event, now in its fifth year and supported by Abbey and Santander, celebrated the official launch of this weekend’s British Grand Prix and raised funds in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. The event began with a champagne reception and was followed by an exclusive auction.

While welcoming the guests, CEO of the Formula One Group Bernie Ecclestone said: “I am delighted that so far we’ve helped to raise well over £1 million towards this new centre, but, with your help, we can do more.”

Auction lots included:

• a ‘Ferrari experience’ at the Italian team’s Maranello factory in September
• a week’s work experience at Brawn GP
• a high speed lap of Silverstone in the Santander Abbey 2-seater driven by Top Gear’s The Stig before the start of the 2009 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix
• dinner with Orlando Bloom
• Lewis Hamilton’s bespoke Steinmetz diamond-encrusted helmet which sold for 30,000 pounds to Ecclestone, for his collection of F1 memorabilia

Formula One racing was represented by reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, Renault’s Nelson Piquet, team principals Ross Brawn and Christian Horner and CVC‘s Nick Clary.

Also attending was model Erin O’Connor, singer Jamelia, actor Damian Lewis, TV star Tina Hobley, the party’s creative director Tamara Ecclestone and her sister Petra, and Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.

After the charity auction, the guests were treated with a musical performance of Grammy-award winner Duffy, which turned the event into a wild concert when singing her number-one single Mercy.