The FIA Prize Gala saw Niki Lauda get Personality Award while F1 drivers Alexander Albon and Max Verstappen won awards too.
As the epilogue to the 2019 F1 season, the FIA and many of their affiliated championships, met in Paris, for the annual prize giving ceremony on December 6. At the event, all world champions were invited to the stage for the ceremony of their respective title’s.
First on the list was Lewis Hamilton, who received his trophy for his sixth world title, to make his championship win official, while Toto Wolff received the trophy on behalf of Mercedes for their championship victory as Valtteri Bottas too the award for second place.
Off of the tarmac, in rallying, Ott Tanak and his co-driver Martin Jarveoja were presented with their new-and-improved 2019 trophy, which all non-F1 championship winners were granted. The WEC champions were also handed their trophies.
Among those acquiring the prize were Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi, and Kazuki Nakajima, who won five of eight WEC races over the 2018/19 season. In the lower category, Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen won the LMGTE title.
The newly-christened world championship of Formula E, which was given the status by the FIA just four days ago, had their winning driver of the 2018/19 season, Jean Eric Vergne, given his award. Nyck de Vries was given his F2 trophy, Robert Shwartzman got his F3’s.
The karting champions were acknowledged then as following that the non-championship-related honors, in which the FIA Motorsport Games winners were handed their medals for winning in GT Cup, Formula 4 cup, the Karting slalom cup, and the drifting gold cup.
Back in F1, Red Bull Racing driver Alexander Albon was given the rookie of the year award, after he stepped in to the top team in the Anglo-Austrian program, and delivered almost instantaneously, having raced for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull.
Also in the highest level of the series, the late Lauda won the Personality of the Year award posthumously, while Red Bull’s Verstappen won the Action of the Year award, on the basis of his battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in Silverstone this year.
The award ceremony saw FIA President Jean Todt paid tribute to ‘some of motor sport’s finest characters, be they driving legends, giants of the automotive industry, and an emerging talent just embarking on his journey into top-flight motor sport’.
Here’s the list:
Rawle Mahabir, TTAA President, January 23, 1948 – January 2, 2019
Mirko Butulija, President of the Serbian Club, AMSS, September 19, 1976 – February 22, 2019.
Charlie Whiting, F1 Race Director, 12 August 1952 – March 14 2019
Roger Braun, ACA, November 17, 1951 – March 21, 2019
Sebastia Salvado, RAAC President and FIA Deputy President for Mobility, November 13, 1932 – April 15, 2019
Niki Lauda, 3 times F1 World Champion, February 22, 1949 – May 20, 2019
Robin Herd, Co-founder of March, March 23, 1939 – June 4, 2019
Jean-Luc Therier, Rally driver, October 7, 1945 – July 31, 2019
Jean-Paul Driot, Founder of DAMS, September 7, 1950 – August 4, 2019
Ferdinand Piech, CEO of Volkswagen, April 17, 1937 – August 25, 2019
Anthoine Hubert, F2 Driver, September 22, 1996 – August 31, 2019
Andrew Cowan, Rally Driver, December 13, 1936 – October 15, 2019
Domingos Piedade, AMG Leader, 1944 – November 30, 2019
The story was written by Duncan Leahy and edited by Darshan Chokhani