Formula One in focus for Zoom charity auction

Formula One drivers, team principals and its boss Bernie Ecclestone have once again contributed images they have taken to the Zoom charity auction.

Many of the images, which have been signed by the photographer, will be auctioned during a gala evening in London on January 16, with the remainder being offered in an online auction shortly afterwards.

This is the third annual Zoom event, with money raised going to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, an official charity of the sport.

Throughout a tense 2014 season, F1 drivers, team bosses and its impresario were each asked to take a photograph that represented a snapshot of their world, to provide fans with a unique insight into the lives of those most closely involved in the sport. The results will be auctioned by Coys during an event hosted by the BBC's F1 presenter Suzi Perry at London's Intercontinental Park Lane on January 16.

All F1's drivers and team principals have taken part, including leading figures from Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to Adrian Newey and Christian Horner.

^{Jenson Button's "office"}

The result is a set of intriguing 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 among the lots donated by event sponsor Nikon, each signed by a Formula 1 World Champion including Niki Lauda, Jacques Villeneuve, Mario Andretti and Sir Jackie Stewart.

^{Lewis Hamilton pictured a tranquil spot a world away from the pressures of F1}

Suzi Perry 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, while 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."

^{Toto Wolff took this selfie on the grid at Bahrain}

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 1 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."

www.zoom-auction.com

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